Dragon Heart: Secrets of the Dragons
by WeirdoWriter
Summary: Dark power is at work here. The kung fu warriors find out that their new mission involves something completely dangerous and unexpected. Meanwhile, Tigress has been having nightmares about Po and eventually tells him. But something happens that causes her nightmare to come to life. The panda is rescued by a man he had thought to be dead. He helps Po to realize his true identity.
1. Nightmare

I would like to dedicate this rewrite to AnimationGirl, who has inspired me to create an account and write for FanFiction.

I have come up with a few good ideas to make this story better, so I decided to rewrite this story. I will replace all of the chapters.

I apologize to any Tigress/Po fans for taking out the romantic parts. But I wanted to take it a little slower. I don't want to rush things with Tigress. So sorry. She does have strong feelings for Po, but she is just not exactly in "love" with him.

I prefer to write in the present tense. No matter what anyone says, I'm keeping it that way. Sorry.

I do not own Kung Fu Panda.

* * *

**Dragon Heart**

**Secrets of the Dragons**

* * *

**Chapter 1**

**Nightmare**

Tigress kicks a wolf hard in the stomach.

Tigress has no idea what she is doing in this forest, but she does remember a mission, but it doesn't turn out well. She has been ambushed by a pack of wolves. Not a very big one though. There are four lying on the ground now, unconscious.

Two more wolves come in to attack. Tigress does a roundhouse kick, knocking one wolf out. The other swings an ax at her, but she ducks out of the way and punches the wolf in the face and he falls to the ground. She eases out of her fighting stance, but her stance returns when she hears a voice.

"Hey, nice moves Tigress."

She lowers her stance when she realizes that Po is walking up to her with his hands behind his back. The tiger smiles and nods. "Thanks, Po."

The panda gives her a teasing smile, "Maybe you'll be more awesome than me one day."

Tigress lets out a light chuckle as she shakes her head. "Right."

Po then looks a little more serious. "Hey, uh, Tigress, there is something I have to tell you."

Then Tigress feels pain instantly shoot through her body, starting from her stomach.

She screams in agony and she automatically presses her paws against the pain, expecting it to be bleeding. She looks down and sees an open wound, gushing blood. She puts pressure on it, hoping that the blood will stop leaking. She panics when she sees that it doesn't seem to be working.

She looks at the panda. Po now has an evil smile on his face as he does a few fancy toss-and-catch tricks with a bloody dagger. Tigress' eyes widen, and she looks back up at the panda.

Her entire body feels weak. She tries to stand, but her legs keep failing. When she lands on her hands and knees she feels more pain surge through her. What is going on? Why would he do this?

He wouldn't. Not the panda she knows. She blinks a couple times, screaming in her mind that this is nothing but a nightmare. But it feels too real.

"Po?" She winces in pain. Her voice comes out weak and strained. "What... what are you doing?"

Po ignores the question, and he walks closer to her, an evil laugh leaving his throat. "So much for the hardcore Master Tigress. If you really were, this probably wouldn't have happened."

Tigress gives him a weak angry snarl. Po holds up his right index finger.

"Ah, watch the temper. You certainly don't want me to kill you right now, do you? But of course, I don't want to have to do that... yet. I want you to see you suffer."

The tiger's eyes fill up with anger, trying to cover the sadness she really feels inside. She gives a low growl. What is happening? Why is Po acting like this? She can't let him kill her!

The evil panda continues talking. "Did you really think that you and I could ever actually be friends?" He looks into her eyes. "Who could possibly want to become friends with a monster like you?"

The word "monster" words strike Tigress as bad as the dagger. She rises to her feet and swings an arm to strike the panda with her paws, but she misses completely and falls back onto her knees, breathing heavily.

She looks at the panda with sadness in her eyes, but still tries to cover it with the anger that also burns inside her. Why would Po say such a horrible thing to her? He would never say that. He can't even so much as think that word. He has never actually said it before.

But this panda... this panda is different. This is not Po. It cannot be. What happened to him?

"Neither your master nor your friends care about you," he continues. "Ha. They don't love you. They never have and they never will."

Tigress' body shakes as she tries to force herself to hit the panda away from her, but her body will not allow her. Po smiles, amused that tigress is still trying to show her former emotionless self.

The tiger squeezes her eyes shut, beginning to feel the hopelessness overwhelm her. Her eyes start to tear up, and she tries to talk, but has a rather difficult time. But she gives Po a glare of fury as she manages to get two words out.

"Kill me."

The panda looks surprised to hear her say that. Then he gives another menacing grin and a short chuckle. "You just want me to end all the pain, is that it?" He pauses, waiting for Tigress to say something, but she stays silent. "Well, as you wish."

He takes several steps back before tossing the dagger in the air. He jumps up, spins, and kicks it. The dagger is flying directly toward the center of the tiger's chest, with the blade completely horizontal.

Tigress shuts her eyes tightly, hoping the dagger will just disappear before it hits her. But she knows that is impossible.

The dagger gets closer and closer until it is just about to impale her body.

Then she opens her eyes.

She sits up and finds herself back on her bed in her bedroom at the barracks of the Jade Palace. It is the middle of the night and everyone else is still sleeping, on top of their covers, too, because it is too warm to sleep under the blankets.

She breathes heavily and checks her stomach for a wound, but she finds nothing. She gives a sigh of relief. It was just a nightmare. Of course Po isn't evil.

But why now? She hasn't had nightmares since she was taught to fear nothing, and that was years ago, many years.

She feels herself trembling along with this other feeling that she had not felt in a long number of years.

Fear.

She is afraid of the nightmare. But why? Why is she afraid? There is nothing to worry about. However...

What if this nightmare had some kind of meaning? What is the point of this dream? Was it some kind of warning? Did it mean that Po is going to turn evil sometime later and kill her?

She shakes her head to get rid of the questions, but they continue to haunt her as she stands up and walks to her door. She opens it a little bit, just enough to see if the hallway is clear. There is nobody in sight. She leaves and closes her door behind her. Then she walks up to Po's door.

She just stands there. Not sure of what to do. Should she tell Po about the dream? She is frozen to the floor as she ponders this decision.

How will Po react to hearing this dream? Will he tell her to leave him alone and go back to bed?

The tiger immediately pushes the question aside. No. Po wouldn't do that. Her exhaustion must be confusing Po with Master Shifu.

The old master used to do that if she had woken up in fear. He would tell her that she should learn to face her fears alone. She would receive no comfort whatsoever.

But how will Po react? Will he try to comfort her? Tell her that it is only a dream, and there is absolutely nothing to worry about? Will he be scared by the dream and end up having it invade his dreams too? Or worse, will he think that the dream is a sign that he will become evil and leave the Valley of Peace and never return, just to protect her?

No. She can't tell him. She cannot lose him. Not again.

Her heart had crumbled when she thought that Shen had killed him, and surely it would be destroyed if she were to lose him again, permanently. She cares for the panda, very much. He has helped her much with her own problems, especially after Shen defeat three weeks ago. She can't stand to have her friend die, but to have him leave the Valley and disappear without a trace...

She stops her thinking with a head shake. She gives a sigh as she turns around to head back to bed, she feels angry at herself for being such a coward. She could talk to Po about anything, so why not this? She reaches to open the door.

But something holds her back, a feeling inside her, telling her not to go, reminding her of the nightmare.

She is afraid she might have it again.

Then she decides to change course and head towards the exit.

* * *

She reaches the top of the hill where the peach tree is. She sits down and begins to meditate on her nightmare.

There must be a point to this. This must mean something. Or is it indeed just a dream?

Tigress tries to find the answer. Her mind becomes an explosion of questions. Questions she cannot answer, questions that cause her to ask opposite questions.

Maybe this dream is just a one time thing. But then again, it might not be. Dreams like this were made to stick in someone's head for a long time, at least, until something happens.

Tigress sighs in disappointment. There is just simply no answer. She is stuck with this horrible dream.

And she can't do anything about it.

* * *

**Death in the family.**

**Name: **Buddy.

**Species: **Dog.

**Gender: **Male.

**Date of Death: **May 28, 2013.

**Age: **17 (119 in dog years... I think... I'm not really sure).

Yeah, my aunt's dog died the day I posted this chapter. Boy, was she upset, and so was my uncle. Our other dog is going to be by herself now when we all leave for school or work or whatever.


	2. Coward

In case anyone doesn't know, "wok" is not a spelling error. It is a dish that is used for making food. It's sort of like a big bowl with handles on the sides. It's what Po used to save himself when he got shot by the cannon. Just thought I'd let you know, in case any of you don't.

I hope my aunt's other dog will be alright with our other dog dead.

I do not own Kung Fu Panda... obviously.

* * *

**Dragon Heart**

**Secrets of the Dragons**

* * *

**Chapter 2**

**Coward**

"Seriously? We get the whole day off of training?"

Po looks at Master Shifu as he cuts a few vegetables into his soup without even looking at it. His eyes are widened with shock, as a smile spreads across his face. The Furious Five look from Po to Shifu, who is standing in the doorway of the kitchen. The old master sighs.

"Yes, Po, that is what I just said."

"Awesome!" Po exclaims as his attention is no longer on his cooking.

Shifu just smiles. "Yes, you have all been working very hard since the defeat of Lord Shen, so I figure you all deserve a break. Feel free to do whatever you wish."

Po is about to say something, but Shifu interrupts him. "Unless it involves riding kitchen appliances down the Thousands Steps."

Po frowns and complains, "Oh, come on. It's not every day you get to go for a wok ride. Besides, in the end, it was really fun."

"You burned a hole through the bottom."

"So stairs and some kitchen appliances aren't meant to be scraped against each other. It was still fun."

Shifu sighs and turns to leave. "If anyone needs me, I'll be at the palace, meditating. Have a good day."

As the master leaves, Po starts putting soup into bowls. "Sweet! A whole day with no training. Ha, and you guys thought it was never gonna happen."

Then he walks to the table balancing four bowls on one arm, holding another bowl in his other paw, and balancing another one carefully on his head. Lucky, he had developed this ability during all the years of working with his dad.

"Soup's up." Po slides the bowls to the other warriors. The one his other paw he gave to Tigress. Then he takes the one off his head and puts it down in front of where he is sitting.

"And it's a good thing too," Monkey says. Then he looks at Tigress. "Especially for Tigress. You look beat."

Tigress has been staring at the table, lost in her thoughts, but sort of snaps out of it when Monkey talks to her.

"Hm? Oh, yeah." She looks back down at the table.

Po starts to feel a little concerned for her. "Uh, are you okay, Tigress?"

She looks up at the panda. She tries to keep her eyes open as wide as they can go. "What? Yeah, I'm fine. I just..." She blinks tiredly and then she rubs her eyes, making them able to open a little wider. "I just didn't get that much sleep last night, that's all."

"Why?"

She looks a little nervous as she looks at the rest of the Five, who are just staring back at her, waiting for an answer.

Then she remembers the nightmare, she sees Po stabbing her with the dagger and mocking her. She tries to hide the slight worry in her expression and gives him a false answer.

"I was just feeling sort of restless. You know, because of all the work we have been doing. You know, it gives me a lot of energy and all that."

She immediately regrets saying that, because she has never been a really big fan of lying. Plus she isn't often that good at it.

Hard work giving her energy? Why would she say that? Hard work always made her tired.

Po doesn't quite look convinced, but he nods. "Ah, okay." Then he starts eating his food in front of him, often giving worried glances at the tiger.

During his time here, Po has also developed some skill in reading emotions in people's faces, and he knows that Tigress' answer is not true.

He will try to ask her what is wrong later today. Tigress knows that he will. She is fully aware that Po knows she is having a problem. When Po wants to know what's wrong, he rarely ever gives up until he gets the answer he wants. He can often be as stubborn as Tigress can.

Tigress just stares at her food for a short moment. Then she picks up the chopsticks and dips them into the soup. She just stirs the soup with them, losing herself in her thoughts.

Should she tell Po? What should she do? She knows Po will understand, but his possible reactions won't let her tell him. She comes again to describe herself as one thing.

A coward.

She then picks up some of the noodles and begins eating, still thinking about how to tell him. She is going to do it, sometime after breakfast. And she will not hold back.

* * *

Tigress splashes her face with water.

It is nearly lunchtime and she still hasn't told him yet. She tried once after breakfast and she had held back. This is ridiculous. She has this urge to tell him, but when she tries to, the words just won't come out.

She remembers calling his name. But when she tried to tell him about her dream, all she said was, "So where are doing today?" Po had told her that he was going to help his dad out at the shop, and then maybe go and buy a few things for a friend in the village.

Tigress growls at herself as she swings her paw at her reflection. Water flies into the air and she stands up and starts to pace back and forth on the shore of the pond she had found just outside the village. She stops and rubs her eyes, groaning in frustration. Then her paw slides down her face as she sighs.

Why can't she just say it? Why can't she at least say, "I had a nightmare"? That would probably have been enough for Po, except that he would want her to be more specific. He would want to know about the dream, and that wouldn't make her feel any more confident. Why can't she just do it? She knows why.

She keeps retreating.

How she hates being a coward.

"Tigress?"

Tigress quickly turns around, startle, and sees the panda pushing past the little bush that is blocking his way.

"What are you doing here?" he asks.

Tigress remains silent, just staring at Po, trying to get rid of her anger in order to avoid scaring him away. But Po doesn't look a bit scared, but rather confused.

"Is there something wrong?"

Tigress sighs, her anger suddenly dissolving. She tries to force herself to say the words. It almost feels like the hardest thing in the world, telling someone about a dream. It may seem easy to Tigress, but truly, it's not.

"I—" She finds it hard to continue, but she manages to say, "I had a nightmare last night, Po."

Po widens his eyes, surprised at the fact that Tigress had a nightmare. "You did?"

Tigress looks at the ground in shame and nods.

"Well, why didn't you tell me before?" he asks. The tiger looks up and sees that concerned look in his eyes.

Tigress is touched that Po cares so much about her, but it also makes her feel like a child. She shrugs at Po's question. But Po can take a good guess. That is why she was a little angry today. She hated the fact that she was afraid to tell him the problem.

Po feels a little bit shocked at how he had just come up with a guess like that. But then again, he knows Tigress well enough to write a very long book about her.

"What was your dream about?"

Tigress opens her mouth, but no words come out. She looks at the ground and turns around to face the pond. She stares at her reflection in the water, back in her thoughts.

"Tigress?"

She snaps back to reality. She turns around. "Don't worry about it, Po. I can take care of this."

"I don't know, Tigress you seem kinda—"

"Po, don't worry about it," she says in a stern voice. "I don't need your help. This is something I have to deal with on my own. I can handle it." She fakes a reassuring smile.

Po is still not sure. "Are you sure? I would really like you to tell me."

Tigress looks annoyed at the panda's persistence. "Don't push it, Po."

Po holds up his hand defensively. "Okay, okay. Well, I'll just be, uh... you know... up the hill, making... lunch."

Tigress gives him an annoyed smirk, and Po leaves to head back to the steps. Tigress turns around to the pond and scowls at herself.

She failed again. And she was so close too. The truth was halfway out, and she just bailed.

How pathetic.

* * *

She cannot seem to tell Po about her nightmare. Let's hope she will eventually. Maybe soon.


	3. A New Journey Begins

This is where the mission starts. You should probably get packing if you want to go with them. Just kidding, they're fictional. You are staying right at home.

You know, if Shifu is a red panda, he doesn't look like the one I saw at the zoo, or on the internet. What kind of red panda is he? A really weird one. A white one.

I do not own Kung Fu Panda.

* * *

**Dragon Heart**

**Secrets of the Dragons**

* * *

**Chapter 3**

**A New Journey Begins**

"Master Shifu?"

The red panda opens his eyes. He had been meditating in front of the little pool in the Hall of Warriors until he hears a voice calling his name. The old master stands up and turns away from the pool to face Zeng.

"Yes, Zeng, what is it?"

The goose is out of breath. He holds up one feather, telling him to wait a moment while he catches his breath. Then he clears his throat as he grabs a scroll from his sash.

"You have a message, Master Shifu." He holds out the scroll.

"Ah," Shifu says as he takes the scroll. "It must be from the new steward of Gongmen City about that tea recipe. It was actually quite delicious."

"I'm afraid it's not from Gongmen." He sees Shifu's smile fade into disappointment, and the goose continues. "Well, not originally from there. I was told to redirect it to you. It's from the Jade City."

Shifu's eyes widen. "The Jade City?" There is a small hint of excitement in his voice.

He had always wanted to go to the Jade City. He remembers the stories he had heard Master Oogway tell about it. He had always longed to go there for at least one visit. But he was always too busy. But now is his chance. Then he opens the scroll and starts to read it.

"Yes. Apparently it is a matter of extreme importance."

Shifu finishes reading the scroll and he looks confused at what it says. He turns to Zeng. "Did the steward have any clue to the cause of this problem when he had gotten this scroll?"

Zeng shakes his head. "I'm afraid not."

"Hm. Zeng, I want you to find the other masters. Some are in the village, others in the barracks. Tell them to come to the palace immediately."

"Yes, Master Shifu." The goose flies out the door while Master Shifu starts to think about this new mission.

* * *

"So, what's going down this time?" Po asks as he enters the Hall of Warriors and heads towards the Furious Five. Monkey shrugs at Po's question.

Shifu is pacing back and forth. Everyone waits curiously for him to talk.

"I apologize for interrupting your day off, but I have received a message from Master Cho-Pa, the ruler of the Jade City."

Po looks confused. "From who-ey, what-ey now?"

Shifu stops pacing and sighs, turning to look as Po as if he should know the answer.

Crane sighs and walks up to the panda. "Seriously, Po? Did you not read any of the scrolls?"

Po smiles nervously, fiddling with his fingers. "Well, I may have skipped one... or ten..." Then his smile turns into disappointment, "... or twenty... two."

Tigress half smiles and shakes her head, looking at the ground.

Shifu sighs again and does his best to talk calmly. "Master Cho-Pa Fu was a student of Master Oogway's years before my time. He was the first ever to train in the Jade Palace. He later became the grandmaster of the Jade City temple. But I found in this scroll that he is now the ruler of the city."

"So the Jade City..." Po doesn't finish, hoping that Master Shifu will explain more.

"The Jade City is where Master Oogway came from. It is where he first taught kung fu after he had left the Sacred Pool of Tears. Then he returned here again and built the Jade Palace up here."

"So I guess that explains the name then, huh?"

Shifu nods. "Yes, Po, the Jade Palace was built in honor of the Jade City, shortly after he defeated Siwang, the Dragon of Death. But let's try to stay on the main topic, please. Master Cho-Pa has recently noticed some very strange things happening in the city."

"What sort of things?" Viper asks.

"The city council has noticed some highly unusual behavior from the citizens. They don't seem to act like themselves. They seem to be breaking a few laws in the city. The masters can't find the answer, so they wrote to us for assistance, hoping that we would fare better in our investigation. They will brief us more when we arrive. So we should leave as soon as we can."

"Uh, exactly how far is this place?" the giant panda asks.

"If we leave now, we should arrive by sometime tomorrow night. So we better prepare for the start of our journey."

Everyone nods and walks to the exit to go back to the barracks.

* * *

All of the masters leave the barracks and make their way down the steps. Then they make their way through the village. Po manages to say goodbye to his dad before leaving the village.

Soon, they end up in the bamboo forest. As they walk through, Master Shifu steps under a branch that sort of hangs sideways. Viper slithers after him. Then Monkey pushes it aside, followed by Tigress, who lets go, and the branch unexpectedly whips the panda in the stomach. He falls to the ground, giving a painful yelp.

Then later, they walk across a small bridge above a wide river. Po tries to walk carefully, but ends up crashing through the boards, and he screams loudly as he starts to think he is going to flow down the river.

But then he looks down and sees that the water only goes up to his stomach, and that's only when he is sitting down. He chuckles nervously as he lifts the rope over him and just walks through the water.

By the time it gets dark, they find a village and Shifu directs them to head towards it. They ask for help from someone in the village, and the villager leads them to an inn.

* * *

Tigress wakes up with a shock as she sits up in her bed. She looks around the room she had chosen to sleep in. She squints when the sun shines in her eyes.

Well, at least she slept longer. Then she realizes that her whole body is trembling again. Will this stupid nightmare ever go away? If she had it twice she is sure that she will have it again.

She groans in frustration. She was sleeping so well. She was having a really great dream, and then it was just pushed aside by this horrible nightmare. Why did this have to happen?

This is going to haunt her forever.

But she is confused at this different feeling she had when she dreamed it compared to the good dream. When the nightmare came, something changed. It felt strange, different, like it was really happening. Why? It cannot be real. It is never going to happen.

But she has this very small, micro sized feeling of doubt.

After a short while, she steps out of her room and walks down the hallway, trying to rid her mind of these troubled thoughts. As she is about to turn the corner to head to the stairs, Po nearly bumps into her, and he gives a startle yell, but not too loud. Tigress, however, didn't even blink.

"Good morning, Po."

"Wow, ha, you sure are quiet when you want to be." He chuckles.

"What are you doing, Po?" Tigress asks, sighing puts her hands on her hips.

Po looks nervous. "Well, I was just having some breakfast, you know. But then they... kicked me out for eating too much." Tigress smiles at that image. "Did you want me to bring you something?"

Tigress shakes her head. "No thanks Po. I'll get it myself." She walks towards the stairs, but Po grabs her arm.

"Wait," he says, pulling her back.

The tiger looks at Po's paw gripping her arm and the panda jerks it back like he thinks she might break it. Then she sees a concerned look in his eyes as he is about to talk, but she knows what he is about to say. She looks annoyed at him. Why is he so worried? Why can't he just drop it?

"I'm fine, Po," she says in an irritated tone. "I don't need you worrying about me all the time. I can handle this myself."

"Well, I don't know, Tigress. Every time you look at me, your eyes tell me that you are expecting something to happen, like... I don't know, but it just, you know, worries me. It's like you're expecting something bad to happen to me or something. And I feel like you are trying to keep your distance from me or something, because now I know you are, like you think I'm going to do something bad to you. What is wrong? Is something going to happen?"

Then the panda practically begs with his next question. "Why can't you just tell me the nightmare?"

Tigress sighs, no longer annoyed. Her eyes go soft and she talks to him in a gentle voice, trying to make him understand. "Po, it's great that you care so much about me, and you really are helpful when you are needed, but... there are some things that you just can't help with. I need to deal with this myself. Do you understand?"

Po looks at the ground, disappointed. He nods. "Yeah, I guess." Then he walks back downstairs.

Tigress looks at him with regret. She wishes she could tell him the whole truth, but she can't. He is a part of the team and they need him. She can't lose her best friend again. She can't imagine living through another heartbreaking moment like that. She will have to find a way to deal with the nightmares on her own. She heads down the stairs too, to get something to eat.

If only she could tell him.

* * *

Just so you know, "Siwang" is the Chinese word for "DEATH".

I had to look this up but in China, white symbolizes death. That is why Siwang is the Dragon of Death... and his scales are white so... yeah.


	4. Beyond The Gate

**ATTENTION: **Those of you following my story, if you get this, read from the beginning again and see the changes. Those of you who are not following, ignore this message.

I just realized something; you know how lots of people described Tigress to have amber eyes? Well that is the wrong color. They are orange. Really, I looked it up. If you look closely at a close-up image of her, you can see it. It even says so on the Kung Fu Panda Wiki.

I realized that jade is a stone, so I _totally _screwed up on my original version.

I do not own Kung Fu Panda.

* * *

**Dragon Heart**

**Secrets of the Dragons**

* * *

**Chapter 4**

**Beyond The Gate**

"Are we there yet, Master?"

Shifu looks at Mantis. "We will be there soon. We are not too far."

Shifu continues to lead the warriors to the Jade City. He notices Po's worried expression is directed at Tigress. Tigress is in front of him; staring straight ahead in the direction they are walking.

The red panda begins to wonder if the two possibly had another fight. Maybe that's what the panda is upset about. Tigress has been a bit out of sorts the past couple of days. But Shifu doesn't remember the last time Po had ever allowed a fight between Tigress and himself to let him down. Something else must be wrong.

The old master shakes his head. The problems between them are none of his business, unless they involve him in it, or if they get violent. But otherwise, he will let them work it out themselves, whatever it is.

A large gate finally comes into view. Shifu walks a little faster. The door is huge, at least three times bigger than the Jade Palace entrance. It is placed right in between two mountains. The door is jade green with golden dragons on it. It is guarded by two rhinos that don't exactly look very welcoming when they see the warriors. They are standing on each side of the door.

Shifu and his students walk closer, and the rhinos send him a threatening glare, which doesn't scare Shifu a bit. He just keeps walking. The rhinos stay on their guard, ready for anything.

Shifu stops and holds up a paw, letting the others know that he wants them to stay. He walks towards the rhino on his right. The guard gives him an unfriendly look. Then Shifu speaks.

"I am Grandmaster Shifu of the Jade Palace. I have brought my students with me. We are here to help investigate these strange behaviors."

The guard now looks relieved. "Oh, of course, we were told to expect you. This whole thing is getting out of control. It has been happening for weeks, and we didn't know any other way to figure this out. Many of the other villagers are starting to worry."

"Well, we will do whatever we can to get to the bottom of this."

"Great, 'cause all of this is making even me nervous. Master Cho-Pa has already sent a guide to take you to our master."

The guard looks at the other one and nods. They both grab the handles of the gate and pull it wide open.

Shifu and the others enter and are surprised at what they see. The entire city is surrounded by mountains, making it look as if the city is inside a giant bowl.

While there is still sunlight, they can see many different colors on the ground in the open fields. Obviously they are growing many different kinds of plants here. There are lots of trees around, growing everywhere. There is actually a forest to the right side of the city, leading out, between the mountains.

On the opposite side of the city is a huge lake. There is a large river that dumps water into it from between two mountains. In the center of the city there is an obelisk made entirely out of jade. It looks like it is probably fifty feet tall.

The entrance to the city gives the warriors the most beautiful view of the sunset. Against the light, the masters can see kites flying in the air. Some look like dragons, others like many other kinds of animals. There are even some that look like the yin and yang symbol.

"This way."

They turn their attention to a clouded leopard. "I will take you to Master Cho-Pa."

He gestures in the direction he wants them to go. They follow him down a path that leads down to the city grounds. The leopard points to a building high up on the top of a cliff.

"That's the Jade City temple. The council members have prepared your quarters for you. Master Cho-Pa has been talking about wanting to meet you for quite some time."

Shifu looks a little surprised at that. Shifu had wanted to meet with Cho-Pa for a long count of years. And he is finally going to do it. A smile grows on his face.

* * *

Then eventually they reach the end of the path and walk through a residential area of the city. There are houses, much neater than those at the Valley of Peace. There is a lot of artwork hanging on the walls. On a row of houses there are portraits of people wearing blue robes, who Shifu believes to be the masters of the council.

Tigress looks around at this one area where there are a bunch of children playing. She smiles at some of the feline kids chasing and pouncing at each other and pulling each other's ears.

"Zan!"

Tigress sees another clouded leopard walking towards him with a smaller one in her arms. "Where are you going?"

The warriors' guide stops and turns to the woman. "Look, I'm sorry, I know I said I'd put him to bed tonight, but these guys arrived a little later than we had thought. So I have to get them to the temple, you know."

"Well, alright," the leopard guide's wife says.

The small leopard looks at Tigress. He has his finger in his mouth while he stares at the interesting looking feline. Tigress smiles at him.

"Well, hello, there. What's your name?"

The cute little cub just smiles and giggles, showing off his gums. Tigress giggles too. Shifu and the others smile at the little baby leopard cub.

The mother smiles at the tiger. "His name is Bo. He's only 11 days old."

The tiger's smile grows wider. "Hey, Bo, I'm Tigress."

Bo smiles and takes his finger out of his mouth as he giggles and reaches up to her. Tigress looks confused when he does this. Tigress looks at his mom.

"He wants you to pick him up," The mother explains.

"Oh," the tiger says silently while nodding.

Then Tigress starts to look nervous, but the mother gives her an encouraging look. The tiger looks back at Shifu and her friends. Their smiles tell her that they are willing to wait for her. Shifu nods.

Tigress slowly puts her arms under the mother's and Bo's mom slides her arms out and Tigress ends up with the baby lying in her arms. Her nervousness fades when she sees Bo's smiling face. The tiger smiles back.

"Hey, how you doing?" she says, unable to resist talking in a high-pitched voice.

She lifts her right paw and lowers it towards Bo, allowing him to play with her finger. Bo grabs her finger and examines it, apparently liking the interesting color. He smiles up at Tigress and makes a bunch of babbling sounds, making the tiger grin automatically.

Then Tigress feels this strange warm feeling inside her chest, like a melting of the heart. This feeling is foreign to her, but it feels good, and she doesn't want it to go away.

Then Bo's happy expression turns to curiosity when he looks at the stripes on the tiger's arm. He puts his finger on one of her stripes and slides it along the line. Tigress watches him curiously.

Then the baby just babbles something to himself. Then he slaps his hand down, hitting air. Then he repeatedly lifts his arms up and swings them down, hitting himself, smiling and cooing while he does it.

Tigress looks at him, puzzled. Why is he doing that? Then she remembers that babies move their arms and legs all the time, but never actually know what they are doing. Bo is just doing what babies do. She almost bursts into laughter when he tries to fit his fist into his mouth.

She rubs the top of the baby's head. "You are so cute."

Then she gently hands Bo back to his mom.

Zan walks back towards the stairs that lead up the cliff. "Come on. We can't keep the masters waiting." Then he heads up the stairs. The others follow right behind. Tigress looks back at Bo.

"Goodbye."

* * *

I looked up stuff on the internet about clouded leopards. Even if it is not the most accurate, I looked it up anyway. I had to find information about when they are able to see, when their teeth first come, and whatever.

Another thing... I looked up information about tigers too, and it just so happens that tigers can't purr. I'm just letting you know in case you may have read my story before I replaced the chapters, so you will know what not to expect.


	5. A Warm Greeting

You know I don't see anything in the rules saying that we HAVE to write a disclaimer. It's FanFiction! Of course nobody owns Kung Fu Panda! I am only writing it because other people are.

I don't own Kung Fu Panda, by the way.

* * *

**Dragon Heart**

**Secrets of the Dragons**

* * *

**Chapter 5**

**A Warm Greeting**

They finally reach the Jade City temple.

Po is panting heavily with exhaustion. It had taken an hour to reach the top. That is a lot longer than it takes to get to the Jade Palace from the village.

The walls of the temple are jade green, and the shingles for the roof are a dark green color. The whole building was much larger than the Jade Palace. It goes up at least three floors. The front doors are the same color as the main city gate, jade green with golden dragons. The doors are not exactly as big as those at the Jade Palace, but they are still fairly large.

Tigress can't help but think that the building is a little too green.

Then two rhino guards open the doors. The warriors take a good look around the interior. The main hallway looks a little like the hall of warriors, but with more pillars and no artifacts. But it is decorated with few busts of some masters that used to be here but not anymore. There is a large one of master Oogway right next to the door they are headed towards. The walls are not entirely a jade color. There are many other colors, like red, blue, etc.

They walk towards another large door. The leopard pushes it open and the warriors see a long flight of stairs along the wall. Po groans in disappointment.

* * *

"And he started tearing up the barracks again," an old large feline says. "This situation seems to be getting worse, and I do not like it."

"Nobody does, Master Kahn. I know you are very worried about this, and so am I, but we have searched for answer for too long just to find nothing." The speaker is another feline, a snow leopard, Master Cho-Pa.

He is wearing a black robe with gold dragons on it and all the other masters are wearing the blue robes. The master also wears a dark grey cape. He also has a golden staff with jade jewels in the top part of it. He made a few adjustments to his chair so he could attach the staff to it. He isn't dressed much like a ruler usually is, but he doesn't care. He is also very old. He looks like he could just be a hundred.

He is sitting in the largest chair at a giant round table, which is in the center of a large dimly lit room. Across the room from the entrance is a bunch of stairs leading up to a door that leads to Master Cho-Pa's quarters.

The old master looks up at the very tall hybrid feline.

Yes. Master Kahn is a liger.

His mother was a Bengal tiger from India, and his father was a lion from the same place. When someone had come after his parents they had to take him as far away as they could, and ended up in China. It took days before they could find some other felines to raise him.

He was always mocked for his size as he grew up, because he is the only liger in China that they know of, at least. But everyone was surprised when he had become a Kung Fu Master, even more when he became a member of the Jade City council. No one bothered to say such things anymore.

"Well, if all we found is nothing, what makes you think that the grandmaster of the Jade Palace will be able to?" Kahn asks impatiently.

"I assure you he will find the cause of this. I do have doubts, but I do not doubt that many of his abilities exceed my own."

He doesn't notice the door open behind him. "But if he can't figure it out, then maybe that Dragon War—" Then he is interrupted by the clouded leopard.

"Excuse me, Master Cho-Pa."

The snow leopard looks behind the back of his chair. "Ah, Zan." He stands up and takes a few limping steps to stand beside the chair. "Have they arrived?"

"Yes, Master. I will bring them in now." Then he leaves the room.

"Good, good. Trust me, fellas, they can help."

Then Master Shifu and his students enter the room. All the other masters stand up from their seats. Shifu looks at the old master and bows. "Master Cho-Pa."

The old leopard limps forward, holding onto the chair, and grabbing his staff, using it as support. He bows back. "Well, welcome to the Jade City."

Shifu smiles. "Thank you, Master."

He walks towards Cho-Pa, his students following right behind him. He stops in front of the old man. Cho-Pa needs his staff to walk. He had a fight with someone a long time ago, and he had his right leg broken. He has been unable to stand on that leg without his staff, due to the loss of feeling in it, plus a bit of unsteadiness.

"So, Master Shifu and his students, I presume?" he asks, looking at all of the warriors.

Shifu nods. "Yes, Master Cho-Pa. These are the Furious Five, and the Dragon Warrior." He points at his students with his staff.

Cho-Pa takes a good look at the panda. He smiles as he says, "Looks like your Dragon Warrior is not to be judged by his appearance."

Shifu smiles back. "No, Master, he is not."

"I sense that many of his skills and abilities go beyond even yours, Master Shifu."

Po jumps in this time. "Except the one where I still can't see my toes."

Cho-Pa laughs. "Well, I'm talking about combat skills. It is certainly amazing how you can use your flaws to your own advantage."

Po is confused. "How exactly—"

"I sense things in people, and I have also had visions."

He looks at Tigress. She is just staring at him. She looks closely at his eyes. She recognizes those gold colored eyes. His facial features also look familiar. That grin, it's so similar to... No... It can't be... could it?

"Is there something wrong, young Master?" he asks as he steps in front of her.

Tigress blinks and shakes her head. "Uh, no, Master Cho-Pa. It's just that, uh..."

"I remind you of someone?"

Her eyes widen. Okay, he must be related to... him. She just shrugs. Then the old master turns to the council members. "You are dismissed for the night."

Then all of the council members walk towards the door. When Master Kahn walks past the warriors, Po can see a dagger at his side. A golden dagger, which was made at least 200 years ago. He had found it during his first battle 60 years ago.

As far as everyone knows, the only power it really has is to shoot lightning at enemies. Master Kahn learned how to use its power, and he used it responsibly. He doesn't use it much anymore, but he keeps it around just in case. He only uses it when most desperately needed.

The dagger is entirely made of gold, including the blade. The handle had been molded to look like a dragon. The blade is inside its golden sheath, which is attached to his belt. Po realizes who this liger is, and he fills with excitement.

"No way! Master Kahn? And his dagger?!"

The old master smiles at the excited Dragon Warrior. "Well, I didn't think people still remembered me for that anymore."

"Well, duh, who would forget the Master of the Golden Dagger?"

The liger shrugs. "Goodnight, Dragon Warrior."

The door closes and everything is silent.

"Awesome," Po says, breaking the silence.

"Come." Everyone turns to the old leopard.

"Let's talk."

* * *

Can you guess who he reminds Tigress of? If you have already read my story, then don't guess.

Okay, I'll give you one hint: it's on the next chapter. There. That's it. Now beat it.


	6. Relations

Let's find out who Cho-Pa reminds everyone of.

I still don't own Kung Fu Panda.

* * *

**Dragon Heart**

**Secrets of the Dragons**

* * *

**Chapter 6**

**Relations**

Tea is poured into Cho-Pa's cup.

"Thank you, Zan." Cho-Pa takes the cup off the table. His chair is turned sideways so that he can talk to the other warriors. They have gathered chairs around the master.

"Now, go home to your wife. You can take the day off tomorrow. We're not really going to be doing much."

Zan smiles and bows to the master and turns to leave.

When the door closes, Cho-Pa turns his attention to Shifu and the others. "Now, I know what you are thinking, Master Tigress. You know who I am related to."

Po and the rest of the Five look at her, confused. The snow leopard continues. "You should all be familiar with my grandson, the one your Dragon warrior defeated."

Everyone, except for Tigress, looks shocked, especially Po. Master Cho-Pa is the grandfather of Tai Lung. The panda can actually see the resemblance, and feels a bit of guilt. He tries to say something but the old leopard talks.

"Now, don't you apologize to me, Dragon Warrior. I would have done the same thing had I known earlier about what he had done."

Shifu also shows guilt on his face. He was responsible for what Tai Lung had done. He made him believe that he was the Dragon Warrior. He had encouraged him to train hard for the Dragon Scroll. Tai Lung wanted it so much that when Oogway didn't choose him, he terrorized the Valley of Peace. It was Shifu's fault.

"Don't blame yourself, Shifu, you never meant for any of this to happen. So you made a completely unintentional mistake or two. You never knew what would happen. Anyway, I had tried to track him down myself. But I could not find him. But it doesn't matter now. He is gone, and the line of Cho-Pa is ended."

Everyone starts to feel bad when they hear that fact. He must now be the only surviving member of his family. Cho-Pa breaks the silence.

"But I am rather relieved, Dragon Warrior, about what you did. I would not hesitate to kill him myself if ever absolutely necessary. I wish more than ever that I had raised him myself. But I couldn't. And now, with no one of my blood to take my place when I die, Master Kahn will have to take over for me."

"But what about a son or daughter?" Po asks.

"I—" He pauses before telling anything. He sighs and looks down. "Well, they're not really around anymore."

**Flashback.**

_Inside Cho-Pa's daughter's house, there is a shadow of a figure holding a knife and is about to stab one of Tai Lung's parents. The shadow is shaped like a boar. Cho-Pa's voice narrates._

"I had a vision. Someone had snuck into their house in the middle of the night and killed them."

_Then the figure stabs one of the parents. Then a younger Cho-Pa enters the house._

"I entered the house to save them, but I was too late. I knew that he would kill my grandson next, most likely because I was the grandmaster of the temple and had the most power. He wanted me to give it up to him. But I had refused. I tried to stop him, and we fought."

_Then Cho-Pa attacks the boar, and they engage in battle. They both do a bunch of kung fu moves, and block each others attacks. Then soon, Cho-Pa is kicked in the face, sending him stumbling back._

"But unfortunately..."

_The boar attacks him again, hitting him in the leg. Cho-Pa falls onto his knees, and then the boar's elbow hits him in the head really hard._

"... I lost. He left without killing my grandson, or me for that fact. I knew the boy was in danger, so I protected him until I healed."

_Now Cho-Pa is at the Jade Palace barracks. He puts Tai Lung down on the ground in front of the door and leaves._

"I left him with you, Shifu. I figured I should leave the boy somewhere safe, and in the care of someone who would keep him that way."

_The middle-aged leopard looks back at the small bundle on the ground. He sighs sadly and continues walking._

**End of flashback.**

Back in the council chamber, Shifu and his students still listen to Cho-Pa's story.

"So I couldn't take care of him. I had too many other people to help, so I couldn't keep my grandson safe from harm. So, you understand why I had to do what I did, Master Shifu."

Shifu nods.

"When he broke my leg, I learned that it will never fully heal. I cannot walk on my right leg without my staff, because I have lost all feeling in my lower leg, and I keep failing to tell if it has touched the ground or not. And I can't seem to balance that well on it."

"What if you had to get somewhere quickly?" Viper asks.

"Oh, I can still run, when I need to. I am just a little off balance when I do."

"So, like, how old are you?" the panda asks.

Cho-Pa raises an eyebrow at Po. "Beg your pardon?"

"Po!" Shifu looks at Po, angry that the panda is asking such an inappropriate question.

"No, no, Shifu, it's fine. Let him ask." The leopard gestures for the panda to continue.

"Well, it's just that Tai Lung would have to have been at least in his twenties or thirties when he tried to get the Dragon Scroll, right? And then he went to jail for twenty years. So he would have been in his forties or fifties when he... well... passed on. So that would make you what, a hundred?" Po looks confused.

Cho-Pa laughs at the panda's guess. "Well, almost."

"Wow," Po says.

"Well, anyway, where are my manners? I should show you to your room." Cho-Pa stands up and grabs his staff. He starts walking to the door. "And by 'room' I mean you will all be sharing one."

"What? Why?" Mantis asks. The warriors follow the old master.

"Well, with what has been happening to the people has happened to a student here and he tore up the other rooms in the barracks. One of them is still standing. But don't worry. The rooms are really quite large. You can all still sleep a comfortable distance from each other. And Shifu gets the bed by the way." He chuckles. "I will clarify more on the situation in the morning. Then the investigation will begin."

They all reach the door, and Cho-Pa reaches to open it, but doesn't do it quite yet.

"I certainly hope you will enjoy your stay. Our city carries many wonderful pieces of art."

Then he opens one of the doors and everyone leaves.

* * *

No way. Cho-Pa is Tai Lung's grandfather. Weird. Oh well, he is who he is.


	7. Late Night Confessions

I had trouble with this chapter. I have to keep asking myself, "What would Tigress say?" That is where I often get stuck.

I do not own Kung Fu Panda.

* * *

**Dragon Heart**

**Secrets of the Dragons**

* * *

**Chapter 7**

**Late Night Confessions**

"_Po? What... what are you doing?"_

"_So much for the hardcore Master Tigress."_

"_Who could possibly want to become friends with a monster like you?"_

"_They don't love you. They never have and they never will."_

"_Kill me."_

"_As you wish."_

Tigress wakes up breathing heavily sitting up on her bedroll. She had the nightmare again. When will it end? She so desperately wants this dream to just disappear.

She rests her head in her shaking paws. The dream is just getting worse; each time there is something different and more menacing about evil Po that makes her shiver.

She stands up, resisting the urge to hit something. Her fear grows as she thinks about what to do about these dreams. She finally comes to the decision she has been trying to avoid these past few nights.

She has to tell Po.

She starts to worry again about what Po will do when she tells him. She doesn't want him to leave. But not telling him isn't really helping her either.

She quietly walks over to the sleeping panda. A smile appears on his face, and he licks his lips. He's probably dreaming about food again. Typical.

She kneels next to Po, and whispers to him.

"Po." He doesn't respond, so she whispers slightly louder. "Po."

He doesn't wake up. Then she reaches her paw towards his arm to shake him awake, and just when she touches the tip of his fur, he sits up quickly, making Tigress jump.

"I didn't eat them, honest!" He nearly yells.

Then he covers his mouth and remembers where he is. They both look around at the rest of the sleeping warriors. Some of them open their eyes, but close them again and they fall back asleep.

"Sorry," the panda says, looking at Tigress. Tigress' face shows fear and anxiety. "Are you alright, Tigress?"

She hesitates before she finally tells him, "I think I'd like that talk now."

* * *

Po and Tigress are outside the barracks and walk to the edge of the cliff. They both sit down with their legs hanging over the edge. They stay silent for a while.

"So..." Po says, and he waits for Tigress to say something. But she remains silent, so he continues. "So what do you want to talk about?"

He already knows, but he wants to make sure that Tigress is comfortable with telling him about her dream. He doesn't want to rush her, but he is dying to find out what is wrong.

Tigress looks at him, feeling uncomfortable. She still isn't sure if she should tell him, but she knows that she has to. If Po is good at anything, it's bringing comfort. But she is still unsure, but she tells him nonetheless.

She hesitates to speak. "Well, I just... It-it's about... my nightmare."

The panda looks at her with concern. "Okay." He waits for her to continue, but she doesn't know where to begin. Po starts for her. "What was it about?"

She looks up at the panda's green eyes. She always liked to see that nonjudgmental look he shows. That is what had made her able to tell him things. The other warriors just wouldn't understand. Quite possibly some of them would crack a joke. Po enjoys making jokes, but he knows when the best time to say them is.

She opens her mouth to say something, but nothing comes out. Po just waits patiently as she builds up the courage to talk.

"It was... about you."

Po nods, wanting her to continue. "You were... Well, I was in this forest and I had taken down these wolves. And you came along and..." She looks away and down at the city.

"And...?" Po says, urging her to keep talking.

"And... you stabbed me."

Po looks shocked. "I stabbed you? You mean, like, with a...?" He makes a stabbing motion with one hand.

Tigress nods. "Then you said these thing to me," the tiger says, looking away, unable to look into Po's eyes. She doesn't want to see his reaction.

"You said that if I really was hardcore, I wouldn't have gotten stabbed. Then you said that you and I could never actually be friends because nobody would ever want to be friends with a monster like me."

Po is even more shocked. He called her... the "M" word? Po had never even said that word in his life, except when he made one of his action figures call his pretend villain a monster. But he never considered her a monster. She was just misunderstood, different, a tiger with claws and fangs, but that didn't make her a monster. It just made her who she was, who she still is: Tigress.

"You also said that Shifu and the others don't care about me, that they don't love me, and they never will."

Po's sad face almost matches Tigress'. How could she have had this nightmare? It doesn't make sense how she can just have a nightmare where Po is evil. He would never say those things to her. Po, Shifu, and the Furious Five do indeed care about her. They are her only friends. They mean the world to her, and she to them.

"And then you..." Tigress takes a deep breath, still trying to avoid meeting the panda's gaze. "Then you finished me off."

She finally looks up at Po to see that worried look on his face, the looks she was always afraid she would see. She instantly regrets telling him what she just said. She sighs.

"Why didn't you tell me this before?" Po asks.

She looks away. "I... I was afraid that you would leave the Valley of Peace and never come back... in order to protect me."

Po thinks about this for a second. She is right. He would have left the Valley if it would protect her and everyone else. He could never imagine her getting hurt. But it brings him great pain to think about himself killing Tigress. He would do anything to keep her safe. But Po has one problem; what is he supposed to say to her now?

"Well, I... uh... well..."

Tigress fills with hopelessness when she doesn't hear a disagreement. She doesn't want him to leave. The Furious Five need him. The Valley needs him.

She needs him.

He had changed who she was. He always makes her happy. She laughs at almost everything he does that she used to hate at first. But now it is all going to go away.

She then looks angry at the panda. "That's what I thought." She stands up. "You would leave, no matter what. And there would be no way to get you to stay, right?"

"Tigress, it's a dream. It probably means nothing," Po says, standing up.

"Yeah, well that's not what you think, though, is it, Po?"

The panda freezes. "Well..."

Tigress groans and walks back to the barracks. Po follows.

"You know, Po, you always have a thing for taking things more seriously than necessary. I don't think that my dream is of an actual event waiting to happen."

"But any dream like the one you had sounds like it has to have some sort of meaning. I mean, people have been acting like criminals all over this city."

Tigress stops, with a look of shock on her face. He is absolutely right. Then maybe this nightmare is going to happen. Whatever is controlling these people might control him. But that means that he is going to leave. She turns to face Po. His anger fades when he sees her worried face.

"You're right, Po. What if this does happen?"

"Now you see why I think I should leave."

Tigress shakes her head. "No!" she says sternly. "Po, you can't leave. We need you here with us. If you just leave us like this, then—"

"Then I will be protecting China," he finishes.

No. If he leaves, he will be tearing Tigress apart. She will never be happy again. No one will ever show her the same kindness that he shows her. She likes the happy feeling she gets when she is around him. If he leaves, he will take that away from her. That is the only reason she wants him to stay, because of how he had helped her to feel.

She enjoys the emotions he has helped her to feel. He made her laugh for the first time. She had never felt so alive. Leaving would be like killing her, only worse, she would suffer. And to make things worse, she would go right back to creating that emotional barrier again.

"No! Po, just—" She then rubs her forehead, sighing. "Po, please just stay. Just think about it overnight before you do anything. Okay?"

Po wants to leave right now, but seeing Tigress worry so much about him, how can he just take off right away? He nods. "Okay."

Then he walks back to the barracks. Tigress follows. Will the Dragon Warrior leave his post and head out on his own? How can she convince him to stay? She never should have told him about the dream.

Now she is going to lose her best friend.

* * *

Will Po leave and leave his best friend behind? How will this end?


	8. Catfight

I had a bit of trouble with this chapter. I did the best I could to write an argument between Cho-Pa and Master Kahn. I just hope that it doesn't suck.

I do not own Kung Fu Panda, but I own Cho-Pa and the council members.

* * *

**Dragon Heart**

**Secrets of the Dragons**

* * *

**Chapter 8**

**Catfight**

Master Cho-Pa is at his bedroom window inside the palace.

He had been talking to Master Kahn, who is sitting on a chair in the other side of the room. The two oldest members of the council are talking about the Valley warriors' involvement in this investigation. Master Kahn looks at the back of the old master's head.

"I don't know, Master. I still have some serious doubts about these guys."

"Nonsense, they are the best warriors in china. They will find the answer to this problem," Cho-Pa says enthusiastically.

He turns around to face the other master, but he only receives a look of disbelief from him.

"I don't see how these guys are going to be any more successful than us. How can they find the source?"

"Because they have the Dragon Warrior with them."

"So?"

"So he has the power to be able to find it."

Kahn scoffs. "And exactly what kind of power does he have, if any?"

Cho-Pa stares at the other master, annoyed. "Power he would have received from Master Oogway, before he died."

"Not even Master Oogway would have been able to find the problem."

"No!" Cho-Pa snaps back angrily. "Oogway would have found it in a snap. He too can sense things, only much better than I can."

"Then why hasn't the panda found out yet?"

"He still has yet to learn how to use this power, and he will. It may take some time, but he will, and he will find out what is causing this."

"Time is something that we do not have, Cho-Pa. There is only so much of it before this thing does something worse. It may advance to murder."

"That will not happen, Kahn. They will solve this and this city will be safe once again."

Kahn laughs in doubt of these words. "You have got to be kidding me. Don't you get it?" He stands up and faces the old man, looking down at him. "This will not solve the problem. If they are the best warriors in China, then having them here is only going to make things worse for everyone else. If they get taken over, they could kill everyone."

Cho-Pa gets angry again. He tries to talk with a steady voice. "Master Kahn, the Dragon Warrior and his friends will end this. They will not get controlled."

"And why do you think that is?"

"Because the Dragon Warrior's power will prevent that from happening."

Kahn turns around and walks towards the wall. "You are an old fool, Cho-Pa to believe that power can stop pretty much everything." He stops and turns to face the master again. "Your stupid power certainly didn't stop your daughter from getting killed. It didn't bring her back to life. It didn't even put that killer to justice."

Cho-Pa's eyes burn with anger. "Do not speak to me in such a manner!" He walks towards Kahn, and they both glare angrily at each other. "I could not stop that because my power was not meant to do so! Now I need that Dragon Warrior because his power is more useful to me than you realize!"

Kahn looks surprised. "Useful to _you_?"

Cho-Pa growls, hating himself for saying that, and he turns away from the liger. "Never mind. Just leave."

"No, what are you talking about?" Kahn demands.

Cho-Pa turns around, yelling, "That is none of your concern, Kahn!"

Master Kahn ignores Cho-Pa. "If we solve this problem, what are you going to do? Keep the panda for your own personal use? Are you going to use him for your own selfish acts?!"

The leopard's anger boils. He snarls loudly at the liger.

"You think you can have whatever you want, Cho-Pa! You always do! But you cannot have everything! You shouldn't have even become the ruler of this city! You should have stayed that lowly peasant you started out as all those years ago!"

"Watch your words, Kahn. They just might be the last ones you will ever say!" Cho-Pa yells.

"You have always been selfish! That is why many people had died from all the previous attacks! You are a failure at your job, Cho-Pa, and I'm going to make sure that you get what you really deserve!"

He has crossed the line this time, and Cho-Pa roars and leaps at him. He hits Kahn in the head with his staff as he flips over him. He lands behind him and then Kahn tries to attack, but he misses. Cho-Pa jumps up again and kicks the liger in the face, nearly knocking him down. For a smaller feline the old man is very strong.

Then Kahn snarls and tries to attack again. Cho-Pa just smiles and points his staff towards him. Then Kahn floats in midair. Cho-Pa points it to the ground, and Kahn lands in that spot. He is unable to move his limbs and body.

Cho-Pa walks to him, using his staff for walking. Even with the staff no longer pointed at the liger, its power is still doing its work. His head can move, though. Then Cho-Pa stands on top of him. Kahn snaps his jaws at the leopard several times before giving up. Then Cho-Pa kneels down in top of the liger's chest.

Cho-Pa whispers menacingly to Kahn. "Now listen to me, Kahn, you are forgetting your place. You have been a master for fifty years and you still aren't showing me any respect."

Kahn growls, but Cho-Pa ignores him. The snow leopard's voice becomes spine-chilling, and the look on his face puts Kahn slightly on edge.

"I am warning you, if you speak out of line again, I promise you, you are going to regret even coming to this city. If you dare to confront me in such a way again, you will wish that you only had four broken limbs."

Kahn still struggles to get up and push the old master off. But it is no use.

"Now... am I finally understood, or should I teach you another lesson?"

Cho-Pa waits for an answer, but receives a growl from the liger. Then Kahn's teeth fade and he calms down, but he still glares angrily at Cho-Pa.

"I understand," Kahn says flatly.

Then Cho-Pa jumps off him and the liger is able to stand up. When he is up, he stands in front of the master, eyes revealing hatred for the old leopard.

Cho-Pa gives him a deathly glare. "Now, you _will _show me the proper respect, or our next talk will be very quick and _very_ messy. Got it?"

Facial expression still unchanged, Kahn says, "Yeah."

"And there's the door." Cho-Pa points to the door.

Kahn makes a small growl before he leaves. The door slams shut behind him.

Cho-Pa watches the door for a while, until he decides to let his anger out. He yells loudly and turns around, kicking a chair into a wall. The chair smashes into many tiny pieces. He breathes heavily, from the anger he feels, still not satisfied. Then he walks to the nearest wall and punches it as hard as he can. There is a small crack in it and he hits it again with his other paw.

He pants again and looks at his paws. His knuckles are now bruised, which he can see past his fur. Then he grabs his staff and walks to the bedroom. He gives an angry grunt as he tosses the curtain aside and enters. When he reaches the bed, he freezes and stares at it. Then he gives another yell and he slams his fists down on top of the bed. The bedstead breaks and the mattress fall to the ground.

Then he lays down on it. He stares at the ceiling for a while, trying to calm himself down. But there is only one thing that really does calm him down when he is angry, and he is facing it right now.

Complete silence.

* * *

Wow, Cho-Pa just threw a temper tantrum. He is actually very strong for an old man. But there is something about his strength that isn't exactly right. You will find out more about him in later chapters.


	9. Danger

I do not own Kung Fu Panda.

* * *

**Dragon Heart**

**Secrets of the Dragons**

* * *

**Chapter 9**

**Danger**

A panda opens his eyes.

"No!"

Just a few moments later, the same panda is running through the village. He runs towards another panda, and stops right in front of him.

"Gang, can you do me a favor, please?" He asks.

His name is Hun Yao, and he is the leader of this panda village. He is wearing a green cloak over his brown clothes.

"Um... sure, I guess. Where are you off to in such a hurry, and so early in the morning?" Gang asks, as he stops tilling his garden and he leans on the garden hoe.

"I have to leave, and I need you to watch over the village for me."

He tries to leave, but the other panda grabs his shoulder and stop him. "Wait, whoa, whoa, whoa. Why?"

"Because I had another vision, China is in danger, or it will be in a few days. I can't allow that to happen. If he dies, the whole planet is doomed."

"Huh? What do you mean?"

"It's Siwang!" the leader says looking very worried.

Gang is shocked. "What? The Dragon of Death? But I thought that he was..."

"No, he's not! I just learned the truth about what Oogway did. He couldn't kill him because he is not a dragon. Only a dragon can kill another. Siwang is still alive, and he is still living at the Jade City. My son has something that Siwang needs to fully return to his true form. There is only one person who can defeat Siwang, and I know who. I have to get to him now." He runs again. Gang tries to grab him again but he is too late.

"Yao, wait!" Yao turns around and Gang continues. "You are not well; you need to rest."

"I know, but I have to do this! Don't you understand? If I don't go now, China is doomed. This is the only way. I know who can defeat Siwang. Look, I can stay here and keep arguing with you. I have to get to the Jade City. Goodbye." Then he runs again.

"Wait, Yao! It'll take weeks to get there! You'll never make it!" Gang calls but Yao ignores him.

He watches as the panda leaves the village. He can only hope that Yao will be alright.

* * *

Shifu and his students are in the barracks kitchen eating breakfast. Po had insisted on making breakfast, mainly so that Cho-Pa could try it. Soon, Cho-Pa enters the kitchen. But he stops at the doorway when he smells something. He sniffs and realizes that it is Po's food. His eyes widen after a few sniffs.

"What is that?"

Everyone turns their attention to the old master. He walks to the table. "I have never smelled anything that good?"

Po chuckle, nervously. "Oh, it's just my dad's recipe of his famous noodle soup. You wanna try?"

"Absolutely." Cho-Pa smiles excitedly.

He immediately sits down, laying his staff on the ground. Po puts a bowl right in front of him. Then he puts a pair of chopsticks next to the bowl. Cho-Pa picks them up and takes another sniff of the soup. The awesome smell of the soup makes Cho-Pa shiver with pleasure, for he had never had anything that smelled this good before.

He grabs some noodles out of the soup and puts them into his mouth. While getting the dangling bits of noodles into his mouth, his eyes widen and he smiles. Then he chews for a while and swallows. He gives a sigh of satisfaction. He almost looks like he is going to faint.

"This is the most delicious thing I have ever tasted, especially when combine with the taste of the soup." He licks some of the soup off his lips.

"I figured you would love it." Po puts a bowl of dumplings on the table in front of the master. "Wait 'til you try these."

The master is so excited to try more of the panda's food. He picks up a dumpling with his chopsticks. He bites half of it, and his smiles grows as he chews. Then he swallows.

"Just when I was so sure I found the perfect cook, you come along." He eats the rest of the dumpling. Po smiles at him. He looks down at Shifu. The master just looks weirdly at Cho-Pa.

Shifu walks closer to the old master. "You said you were going to tell us more about the problem here, Master."

Cho-Pa looks at Shifu with a mouthful of noodles. He holds up one finger, telling him to wait. Then he swallows.

"Of course." He licks his lips. "Apparently, something—I'm not entirely sure what—is making the citizens act very strangely."

"How so?" Shifu asks.

Cho-Pa continues. "Well, they've been causing a lot of trouble—stealing things, burning down houses, destroying precious temple artifacts, and so on. I have had my best masters investigate the cause of these people's behaviors. But so far we have gained nothing. Then I thought of you guys. I figured your search might get better results."

He points to Po with his chopsticks. "But you, Dragon Warrior, you I expect to be able to rid the city of this thing once we find it." He picks up more noodles and eats.

Po scratches his neck, confused. "Um, okay, but, uh... how exactly am I supposed to, like, get rid of something that you can't even find, especially if you don't even know what it looks like? Don't you have, like, any clue at all as to what this thing is?"

Cho-Pa shakes his head. "None. We have searched everywhere, but there isn't even the slightest hint. Well, actually, when people are taken over by... it, their eyes seem to glow red. It seems that when they are under control, they will do whatever they are forced to by it, and they don't even realize that they are doing it."

"Hang on, so what is this, like, mind control or something?" the panda asks.

Before Cho-Pa takes another bite of noodles, he answers Po's question. "Yeah, you could say that." Then he eats.

Po and everyone else exchange nervous glances. Po and Tigress look worried at each other. This could be what will happen to Po. Maybe he actually will turn evil and kill Tigress, and maybe the rest of his friends along with her. So what are they to do? How will they find this thing before that happens?

"Is something wrong?" Cho-Pa asks.

Po nods. "Oh, no, no, we're good. It's just that, you know, we're not exactly into the whole... you know, mind control thing. 'Cause I'm certainly not looking forward to, uh, you know, doing anything bad and all that."

"Oh, you needn't worry, Dragon Warrior. You have a strong power inside you that will prevent such a thing from happening. You will be perfectly safe, unless it tries to get someone else to kill you."

He and Po both shrug. Cho-Pa takes in another mouthful of noodles. Po and Tigress look at each other, relieved. It looks like the nightmare isn't going to happen, and Po isn't going to leave. Tigress smiles widely. Cho-Pa finishes chewing and swallows his food.

"Okay, so, we will begin the investigation this afternoon." He picks up the bowl and looks at Po. "I sure wouldn't mind having you as my personal cook." Then he drinks some of the soup.

"Oh, yeah, well, no thank you. Sorry."

Cho-Pa puts down the bowl and shrugs, smiling at the panda.

"Just thought I'd give it a shot."

* * *

I bet you know who Yao is. But who is this "Dragon Guardian", and will he be able to defeat Siwang?

The Dragon Guardian is, in a way, hidden inside someone... spiritually. And I mean that he's literally a spirit. I bet you can't guess who it is, unless you have read the original version of this story... all of it.


	10. Too Young To Die

WARNING: Extremely sad scene ahead. It's about somebody's death, but the severely heartbreaking part is _who _is dead.

I do not own Kung Fu Panda.

* * *

**Dragon Heart**

**Secrets of the Dragons**

* * *

**Chapter 10**

**Too Young To Die**

"No, that's pretty much it."

Monkey sighs with disappointment. "Okay, well, thanks anyway." The goose he had talked to walks away further into the city. Mantis jumps onto his shoulder.

"Man, this is boring," the little insect complains. "We've talked to everybody here, and it's always the same answer. They see red eyes, robberies, blah blah blah. But there is nothing different."

Shifu is just finishing a talk with someone. "Thank you, sir. Goodbye." The goat leaves, and Master Shifu turns around and sighs as he walks towards Cho-Pa. "Excuse me, Master Cho-Pa."

The old master chuckles. "Shifu, please, why don't you just call me Fu?"

"I'd... prefer not to. If it's alright with you, Master, I would like to go back to the temple and... get rid of this headache." He walks towards the path rubbing his temples.

Cho-Pa smiles. "If you wish." Then he chuckles a little bit. Po has been standing beside him for quite some time.

"So, how long have you been the ruler of this city?" the panda asks.

"Oh, I'd say about 22 years. Everything was fine for a while." Then Cho-Pa's smile turns into an angry frown, which is directed at himself. "But then many criminal infestations occurred, and I had proven myself too weak to stop them. Many of the masters believe that I should resign my position. No one wanted me to do it more than Master Kahn did."

They both just look around the city in silence. Then Po breaks the silence. "How are we supposed to find this thing? What kind of tactic are we going with here?"

The master shrugs. "I honestly don't know. I don't know if someone is causing this or if it's something a little more... spiritual."

Po looks nervous. The snow leopard continues. "But whatever it is, you may be the only one who can stop it."

Anxious to say no more about this conversation, Po says, "So, you think we could probably just call it a day and head back up?"

Cho-Pa sighs. "Sure. You just head on up. I'll be right up there."

The panda smiles and heads up the path. Cho-Pa stays behind and then he calls out to the Furious Five.

"Master Shifu's students, you can all return to the temple now. I think you have done enough."

"I'd say we've done too much." Mantis jumps off of Monkeys shoulder and heads towards the path.

Monkey, looking quite tired, looks up at Crane. "Would you mind giving us a lift?"

Crane gives an annoyed sigh. "Fine."

Mantis calls out, "Wait for me!" Then he jumps onto Crane's back and hangs onto his neck with his little claw things.

Viper looks at Tigress, who appears distracted. "Tigress, you coming?"

The tiger looks at Viper. "Hm? Oh, yeah, well, you guys just go. I'll head up there eventually."

"Okay." Viper wonders what Tigress is looking at, but she shrugs and wraps the end of her tail around Crane's ankle. Then he lifts off the ground.

Tigress turns around again and makes her way towards a house. There is a portrait hanging on it that seems familiar, so she decides to take a closer look. As she gets closer, the picture becomes clearer. She stops walking and her eyes widen as she sees who the portrait is of.

She sees a female tiger wearing one of those blue robes the masters wear. The tiger looks almost exactly like her, but with a slightly narrow head shape. Tigress cannot deny that her facial features match her own, especially her eyes, which are the exact same color, the same shade of orange.

Tigress is utterly shocked. Could this possibly be... her mother?

Was Tigress' mother a master of the temple and a member of the city council? Questions instantly pop into Tigress' head. If her mother was a master here, then why isn't she here now? Where is she? Is she still alive?

The she remembers the questions she wants answered the most. Why did she leave Tigress at the orphanage? Was it for the same reason as Cho-Pa? Was she in danger and wanted to protect her daughter? Or is it possible that she was too busy to take care of her? What if...

What if she didn't want her?

Suddenly, Tigress hears a loud and distant bloodcurdling shriek. Not wasting one second, the tiger darts off in the direction of the screaming.

It takes no less than a minute before Tigress finally arrives at a house surrounded by people wondering what is going on. Tigress enters the house. She looks around and sees that everything in the house is damaged; all the furniture, decorations, and dishes were all lying in pieces.

"I-I killed them!" a voice says. "I didn't mean to."

Tigress turns her head to see the wife of Zan sobbing into the shoulder of a goose. Tigress feels saddened too as she looks at the blood on the leopard's hands and clothes.

What is she talking about? Killed who?

Tigress walks further into the house. Where are Zan and Bo? Shouldn't they be here? Or are they outside? Tigress starts to worry. Then she walks towards an open curtain. She looks inside and a look of horror covers her face.

Zan. He is lying on his bed, covered in blood, which leak out of the cuts and stab wounds all over his body. There is blood spatter all over the walls. She walks closer to the clouded leopard and puts her finger on his neck.

No pulse. Tears threaten to leak out of her eyes but she holds them back. She ignores the blood on her hands as she tries to keep herself together. His wife did this. But Tigress knows that it isn't her fault. She had no control over this action.

Tigress suddenly remembers something else.

Bo.

Fear fills her as she rushes out of the room and she moves a curtain to see inside another room. Then her heart stops, and she freezes.

A small leopard is lying on the ground in front of a doctor. The doctor has tears in his eyes as he looks up at the tiger, startled by her entrance.

Tigress is unable to move as she stares in horror at the motionless baby on the floor. There is no blood, so he must have been strangled to death. The doctor looks at her with eyes full of sorrow, and he leaves the room, squeezing past the tiger.

Tigress feels anger grow inside her. How she wishes to yell at the doctor, to hurt him, to threaten him, just to give him the urge to continue.

But she can't. It's not his fault. When a doctor can't save a life, he cannot change that.

Tigress feels pain in her chest as she keeps her eyes locked on Bo. How could he die now? He wasn't even two weeks old. How could this... thing, this heartless monster, force the mother to kill him?

She feels tears beginning flood her eyes and blur her vision. She tries not to let them fall. She starts to breathe heavily as she tries not to sob. She feels her legs start to buckle and she falls to her knees. She wants to hold him one more time, but her paws just hover over his lifeless body. Tears start to stream down her face, and she chokes back a sob.

Then she sees another paw carefully place itself under his head and another under his body. Tigress looks up to see Bo's mother on her knees, staring at her with red eyes. Her face is wet with tears. She looks at Bo as she lifts him up gently and puts him into Tigress' arms.

Tigress' heart aches more as she touches his cute little face.

"You are so cute," she manages to whisper.

Then she brings him to her shoulder and hugs him, rubbing her cheek against his. More tears leak from her eyes and her bottom lip shakes. She struggles to avoid letting out a sob; not an easy task but somehow, she manages. The mother however just suddenly starts up again. She covers her mouth as she sobs loudly.

Tigress looks at her, and her heart now fills with panic. What can she do? How can she comfort this brokenhearted mother? How can you comfort a mother who killed her own child at the control of something else?

The mother looks behind her at the bloody knife she had used to chop vegetables, and later to kill her husband. She had put it down here before strangling her son, and crushing his throat.

That weapon is starting to look awfully helpful to her.

Yes. It could help to end all of her suffering. Quick and easy, right?

Then she finally makes her decision.

She stands up and walks towards the weapon. Tigress watches her, wondering what she is looking at. The mother picks up the knife. Tigress watches in shock.

The mother examines the knife as she considers if she should do it. Tigress knows what she plans to do, but she can't let her end her life because of this.

As the mother continues to gaze at the knife, an orange paw grabs her hand. She sees Tigress standing next to her. The mother makes no struggle and allows Tigress to take the knife away.

Tigress puts the weapon down on the table next to her. She shakes her head; her face looking like her sadness is going to explode out of her. She gently puts the baby into his crib. She covers him with the blankets. Even though he is not alive, it just feels like the right thing to do for a child his age. The mother sobs loudly again as she leans into Tigress, who is startled by this. But Tigress hugs her tightly.

After a few moments, when the clouded leopard stops crying, she looks Tigress in the eye and says with a shaky voice, "Thank you for being here." She tries to smile, but she can't.

Tigress is still feeling the urge to cry. She just stares at her, unable to reply. Then she nods and stands up and leaves the room. She then starts running. She runs out of the house and past all the people around the house.

She nearly bumps into Master Kahn. He looks at her, and then back at the house, worried what about what he will see. He heads to the door.

* * *

Tigress finds herself deep in the forest, still on the city grounds. She eventually trips and falls to the ground. She stands back up and screams loudly, letting all of her emotions finally escape.

Then she starts punching the trees, giving a grunt of anger and grief with each hit. Then eventually her voice gives one more loud scream as she hits a tree with both paws.

The whole forest seems to shake as she realizes that she had just broken the tree's trunk. It is a very wide tree and she actually cracked its trunk right through. The tree tips over and falls, causing a few other trees to fall.

Unable to stand anymore, Tigress collapses and lies on her back. She lets out many loud sobs, for she is unable to hold it in. She then lies on her side and curls up into a ball shape.

She no longer struggles to stop crying. This is the first time she has ever cried, as far as she can remember. She had been close when she thought Po was dead, but she held it back. She had been holding it in for over twenty years.

Now she's finally letting herself feel it.

* * *

Now honestly, I wasn't exactly sure how I should have had Tigress react, but this is the best I've got for that. I almost cried while I was writing this.

Tigress may have held her feelings back, but when it comes to a childs death, I felt that she should have totally broken down.

This chapter shows the horrible power of "It". Now we know what this evil thing is capable of. They are going to have to stop it before someone else gets killed. Will they be able to solve this problem in time? Let us hope so.


	11. Duel For Power

There will be another fight coming up. Wow. This is the longest chapter I have ever written so far.

I do not own Kung Fu Panda.

* * *

**Dragon Heart**

**Secrets of the Dragons**

* * *

**Chapter 11**

**Duel For Power**

"I warned you, Master Cho-Pa."

Cho-Pa looks at the liger sitting across the table from him in the council chamber. Kahn glares angrily at the snow leopard.

The liger continues. "I told you that having Shifu and his students here would make things worse. Whatever has been causing the previous crimes has already started killing."

Cho-Pa sighs, rubbing his forehead. "I know that Kahn. I'm sorry that I doubted you, but this just happened much sooner than I had expected."

Kahn's anger rises. "Sooner than you expected? Cho-Pa, you don't seem to understand that the best time to take over someone else's mind, especially if that someone is powerful, is as soon as possible. What could you possibly expect this thing to wait for?"

Cho-Pa talks back in a stronger tone. "Calm down, Kahn. We need to find a way to get this thing to reveal itself."

Kahn groans. "Come on! You're just going to keep doing this?!"

"We have to. It's the only way to end it."

"So, you're just going to sacrifice more and more innocent lives until there is not a single living thing here, is that right? Well, that's a great plan! I can't wait for it to take place."

Cho-Pa stands up from his seat and stares back at the liger. "Do you have a better idea?"

"Yeah, we need to evacuate the city. Get everyone out, and we need to start as soon as possible."

"That's not going to work. If we leave, we will be bringing that thing with us. If that happens, it is going to spread across China. We can keep it contained here."

"And what good is that going to do anybody? If we stay here, we are all going to die!"

"_We _are going to die. If we leave, the whole country is going to die. The entire planet is gonna die. We cannot let it get used to traveling, so we must stay here. Then it won't go anywhere."

Kahn is outraged. "So, we're just going to let this continue?!"

"If it will save the planet, we just might have to."

"I will not just stay here and watch people get murdered, Cho-Pa!"

"The murders aren't important. We have to—"

Kahn slams both of his fists on the table as he stands up and sceams loudly, scaring the other masters. "Two people are dead, Cho-Pa! And one of them is an _infant_! What could possibly be more important than that?!"

There is nothing but dead silence in the room. None of the masters wish to cause any further argument. Kahn's angry expression changes to sadness. Cho-Pa stares at him, completely calm.

"What's more important is that we catch this thing and destroy it."

Fury burns inside Kahn, and he sends a low growl to Cho-Pa. "You fool! Do you not see what you are doing?! You are not trying to save the city. You're just trying to get everybody killed. If I didn't know better, I'd say you were the very thing we were looking for."

Then he starts walking around the table behind each master's chair.

"You never should have been chosen as the ruler. Master Won Chang was just another old fool, always making the wrong decisions. Well, this time he went too far. He made a terrible choice. He should have known better than to trust someone who couldn't follow a simple order, let alone give one."

He stops walking and just stands right next to the old snow leopard. Cho-Pa stares menacingly back at him, not at all feeling intimidated.

"You are all dismissed for the night." Cho-Pa hasn't taken his eyes off the liger.

The other masters stand up and walk towards the exit. An elephant holds the door open for everyone else. When all the other masters leave, the elephant runs out, closing the door.

The two masters are still glaring angrily at each other.

Cho-Pa snarls at Kahn. "You remember what I have said about crossing the line, Kahn, don't do it."

"I'm sorry, Cho-Pa, but I will not let this happen. I cannot allow you to just stand around and do nothing while other people die. I think that you should leave your position and give it to me, as it was meant to be given to."

Cho-Pa growls at Kahn. "I will not give it up! You weren't meant to rule because I was chosen!"

"And look at how well you're doing at your job," Kahn says sarcastically.

Cho-Pa jumps at him, knocking him down. He is standing on Kahn's chest again, crouched down, staring at him darkly in the face.

"You do not want to go there, Kahn. You are heading towards a very long time in prison."

Then Kahn punches Cho-Pa in the face. The old master flies off of him and lands in the middle of the table. There is a large bruise on his left cheek, which can be seen through his fur. He stands up, but mostly on his left leg, realizing that he doesn't have his staff. So he just uses his right leg for balance. It is lying on the floor farther away from the table. Kahn jumps up and lands on the table. He walks towards his old master and stops a few meters away from him.

"If you won't do something about this, then you don't belong here. If taking you out is the only way to make you stop, then I'll do it."

Kahn gets into a fighting stance. Cho-Pa doesn't move, for he does not wish to fall over.

The old leopard laughs. "You are actually considering fighting me? Ha! You have got to be kidding."

"But that is how it must be."

Cho-Pa gives an amused smile. "Must it? You won't stand a chance. You know that. This is a foolish act."

"Says the fool who just lost his magic staff," Kahn replies.

Cho-Pa looks at his staff and smiles as he looks back at the other master. "I don't even need it for this. But if you think you can defeat me, then bring it."

Then Kahn charges at Cho-Pa. Cho-Pa thrusts his paws forward and hits the liger in the stomach. The liger flies back and nearly slides off the table.

Kahn looks up to see Cho-Pa looking back at him with a confident smile. He isn't going to make this easy for Master Kahn. This battle is going to be difficult to win.

Kahn stands up and charges again and swings his paw. Cho-Pa ducks and swings a paw at him. Kahn blocks the attack. They both continue to attack and block each other until eventually some sort of force emanates from the old leopard and seems as if air pushes the liger back a bit. Then Cho-Pa lifts his paws up as some kind of energy seems to build up in his paws, and he swings them down, hitting the table. This causes Kahn to fly farther back and hit his back on a pillar.

Then he sees Cho-Pa flying at him in the air with his left leg straightened out. But Kahn moves aside and Cho-Pa hits the pillar, leaving a crack in it. Then he limps towards the other master and then he starts attacking again. He jumps up and swings his right leg at Kahn's face. Then he starts punching him. Kahn manages to block some of the blows.

Then Kahn grabs Cho-Pa and throws him towards a wall. The leopard smacks really hard into the wall. Then Kahn comes at him to punch him. He lands the punch on Cho-Pa's right cheek. The old master falls onto his back. But then he spins himself on his hands while upside-down, and he ends up on his feet. Then Kahn attacks Cho-Pa again, but hits only air. He swings his paws a few more times, still missing. Then Cho-Pa jumps into the air to attack him. Kahn grabs him by the tail and swings him at a pillar.

Cho-Pa has been prepared for something like this. His feet touch the pillar and he pushes himself off and sends himself flying at the liger. Kahn looks surprised as he tries to move. Kahn hits him and they both hit the wall and crash right through it. They are now in a training room. They continue their brawl.

This time the fight gets more intense as Kahn's claws appear and he growls again. He jumps at the old master and swings his claws at him, the hatred in his eyes burning like hellfire, with the full intent of killing Cho-Pa.

"Give it up, old man!"

He swings a clawed paw at Cho-Pa, but the old master jumps back, dodging the attack.

"You are weak!"

He swings his other paw. Cho-Pa ducks and Kahn hits a glass vase, and it smashes against a wall.

"You fear combat! You cower from it!"

He then claws at him again, but the master jumps into the air, causing Kahn to slice open the training dummy. Sand starts to leak out. Kahn continues his rampage.

"You do not deserve your title! And you will leave it!"

He then swings his claws again, and Cho-Pa jumps to the side, towards the bamboo sticks used for sparring. They are small so they were for the much smaller students.

"Alive..."

He then swings his claws, and misses Cho-Pa, but he hits the bamboo sticks. They fly behind Cho-Pa. He continues to step back.

"...or _dead_!"

Kahn swings his paw back, ready to go for another blow. Cho-Pa steps on one of the bamboo sticks and almost loses his footing, and he is unable to dodge the liger's claws. He gets hit on the right side of his face. The force of the hit causes him to stumble back and fall to the ground. Kahn stops trying to attack him.

"Then I will reign over the city, and I will save everyone."

Cho-Pa groans in pain as he covers his right eye with one paw. Blood is running down his face and his neck. He turns around to face the liger. He growls at him as he stands back up, trying to keep his balance with his unfeeling leg.

"So, what's your choice, Cho-Pa?" Kahn asks in a threatening voice.

The leopard glares angrily at him for a while. Then he lifts his right arm, holding it straight out, keeping his eye closed as he does this. Kahn is confused as to what Cho-Pa is doing. Then the staff flies into the leopard's hand, and Kahn becomes worried. The old leopard holds the staff towards him.

Suddenly, Kahn finds himself floating in the air. Cho-Pa pushes the staff forward and Kahn flies into a wall in the council chamber. As Cho-Pa walks into the room he makes the other feline crash into many other walls, including the ceiling and floor. Cho-Pa looks amused at this, and soon he brings Kahn back down to the ground in front of him. Kahn is on his back, coughing from the impacts that had knocked the air out of him.

Cho-Pa rips off a piece of his cape and ties it around his head so it is covering his eye. He ignores his still bleeding cheek. Then he walks to the liger. Kahn now looks at the master in fear. Cho-Pa crouches down and talks calmly.

"I told you not to mess with me. You understand the laws perfectly well. If you ever try anything like that again," he says, pointing to the training room, "I will have you put to death. Do you understand?"

Kahn pants heavily. He stands up, with difficulty; with the multiple times he flew into the walls, he had eventually injured his leg. He manages to keep himself up, trying to keep a straight face with all the pain he feels. He looks at the master and nods.

"Yes, Master. I am sorry."

He means this sincerely, regretting his actions. He had let his anger and depression get to him. He just wants to protect the citizens. He knows that the penalty for trying to kill his own master is death.

"Then I will let you go this time, but you will let me run things my way," Cho-Pa's facial expression changes to a look of sadness, remembering the risk of his decision. "We stay here and try to figure this thing out."

Kahn feels angry again and opens his mouth to protest, but he closes it again. There is no point in arguing with his master any further. His staff could do all kinds of magic stuff, and he doesn't want to face all of that again. He certainly doesn't want his own anger to take control again, and attack the master. But he still wishes to go with his own plan, to evacuate the Jade City, to keep them safe from this place.

He snarls quietly, but then he bows to his master, and Cho-Pa returns the bow. Then Kahn turns around to leave, limping as he goes along. Cho-Pa now has a sad look in his eyes.

What if Kahn is right? What if an evacuation is the best way to go? Would the evil thing follow them, or would it stay? Should he risk it? He wants the people safe just as much as everyone else.

No.

He cannot risk it. They must find it and put an end to all this. They have to kill it. Then the city will be safe and he can proceed with his own plan for the Dragon warrior. But he must worry about this now. He will stick to his plan.

They must find it.

* * *

Wow. That was, like, really intense, right? By the way, Won Chang is the name I originally got from the name "Chon Wang" from the movie, "Shanghai Noon."

If anyone hasn't read this yet, which idea do you think would be best to follow? What should Cho-Pa do?

So weird, I have never written like this before. I always have trouble with the conversations. But not this time... I think. This is beyond my usual writing skills. Seriously. This is partly why I decided to rewrite the whole story, to sort of improve. And it is turning out really awesome so far. But I don't really know about the fighting part. Was that part good?


	12. Depression

I do not own Kung Fu Panda.

* * *

**Dragon Heart**

**Secrets of the Dragons**

* * *

**Chapter 12**

**Depression**

"Tigress?"

Tigress hears Po's voice call her name as he knocks on the door of the room she is in. They had finished repairing a couple rooms but there are still some more to do.

Tigress has been lying in bed all night and throughout the morning. She has just been to upset to do anything. She hasn't even eaten since she found out about Bo. She had left her dinner on the table, and she didn't even arrive for breakfast. Now it is about lunchtime.

The others have been very worried about her. She hasn't even spoken a word since last night. Every time Po tried to comfort her, she kept rejecting him.

But Po would not give up. She starts to feel like the panda cares a little too much.

Po knocks again. "Tigress?"

Tigress remains silent, tears filling her eyes. Can't he take a hint? She obviously doesn't want his help. Why can't he just leave her alone? Why can't anybody leave her alone?

She cannot take her mind off that poor little baby clouded leopard. He wasn't even two weeks old. Why did he have to die now?

She keeps seeing his cute little smile and how he had tried to put his fist in his mouth. This memory makes more tears come to her eyes.

If only she had been there. She could have saved Bo and his dad.

No. She would most likely get killed too. Whatever controlled the mother is too strong for Tigress to fight against.

Her thoughts are interrupted by the sound of her door opening, but she keeps her eyes on the ceiling. Po sticks his head inside the room.

"Tigress, I... brought you something to eat," he says in a gentle and concerned tone. He opens the door and walks in, carrying a bowl of soup. "Do you want any?"

Po stands in the doorway, waiting for the depressed tiger to answer. She says nothing. Her bottom lip quivers as she tries to keep herself from crying. She blinks several times to stop the tears from coming out. The panda waits patiently, expecting her to say something eventually.

"No thanks, Po." Her voice comes out shaky. She sniffles.

"Are you sure?"

"Yes." Tigress is already getting annoyed.

"Because it's not a good idea to skip meals, you know."

She looks at the panda with a threatening look in her eyes. "I'm not hungry, Po."

She knows that is not at all true. Of course she is hungry. She is starving. But she just can't eat anything. Who could possibly feel like eating after what she had seen?

She rolls over onto her side, her back turned to Po, not wanting him to see the tears that are coming from her eyes.

"Tigress," Po steps closer to Tigress. "Look, I'm just as upset about Bo as you are, but you can't—"

"You weren't there, Po! You didn't see him!" Tigress starts feeling the strong urge to cry again, but she resists.

Po just stands there staring sadly at her. She is right. She has a good reason to be more upset than Po, Shifu, and the rest of the Five. She had been down in the city. She saw Bo dead, and she held his lifeless body.

"Hey, if you want to talk, I—"

"There is nothing to talk about, Po." Tigress' anger grows.

"Tigress, please? I really want to help you, but if you keep shutting us out, you'll—"

Tigress growls as she sits up, looks at Po, and yells angrily. "Can't you take a hint, Po? I don't want your help! I don't want anyone's help! I just want to be left alone! Is that too much to ask?!"

Po trembles in fear, and he stammers. "Well, I-I-I just—"

"Po," she interrupts, standing up from her bed and slowly walking towards Po, with a threatening glare, making him move backwards towards a corner of the room. He stares back at her in fear

"I am sick of you always checking up on me. I do not want your soup. I just want you out of my room, because I do not need the help of some stupid panda!"

Then he falls on his butt, nearly spilling the soup, and quickly moves right against the corner. He can no longer look into her threatening eyes.

A stupid panda.

He had never expected to hear those words come out of her mouth again. Po feels the sadness start to fill him.

"Now if you don't want to end up like Bo, I would suggest that you leave, now!"

Po stands up quickly, and still tries to talk. "Tigress, I—"

Tigress hits the bowl of noodles out of his hand, and it shatters. The panda looks fearfully at the tiger. She growls.

"Get. Out."

Po looks closely at Tigress' eyes and sees a tear roll down her face. He looks down at the ground sadly. He decides to leave before Tigress has a chance to hurt him physically this time.

"Okay, I'll go. If that's what you want, then that's what you'll get."

Then he changes his facial expression, trying to look emotionless, but his eyes still show sadness. He steps past Tigress and heads towards the door. Then he stops and turns around. His eyes tear up as he looks sadly at the tiger.

"You know, maybe it would have been best if you became the Dragon Warrior." The Po's eyebrows lower in slight anger. "Then at least you wouldn't keep blaming _me _for all of _your _problems."

Then he looks away and sighs as he looks at the ground as he leaves, closing the door behind him.

Tigress' anger melts into regret as she realizes what she had just said.

Did she say all that? She didn't mean it. She was just upset about Bo. She didn't mean to end up... threatening her best friend.

But now, what does he think of her? A monster? She wouldn't blame him. He just tried to give her soup and talk, and she just blew up in his face. That was unacceptable.

She blames this all on herself. She is the one who got angry and hit him hard with her own words. She should be punished for such a thing. How she wishes to punch herself in the face really hard.

Tigress backs up until her back hits the wall and she sits down. She continues to think. Po had never reacted that way to Tigress before. So why is he now? She sighs, knowing the reason why.

Because they had formed a very strong friendship together. They always got along, no matter what happened, no matter how many mistakes the panda made. They were best friends, until now.

Tigress had destroyed their wonderful relationship with harsh words because of the death of a very small child.

Will Po ever forgive her? She wouldn't be surprised if he doesn't. Then she scowls at herself for being so stupid. Her entire body is flooded with the deepest regret, as a stinging feeling fills her chest.

She hears a knock at her door. "Yes?" She asks.

"May I come in, Master Tigress?"

Tigress recognizes the voice as Cho-Pa's. "Yes, Master Cho-Pa."

The old master enters the room. Tigress' attention instantly is drawn to his eye and is cheek, which is now covered with a bandage. Cho-Pa sees her eyeing his wounds. He knows the question she is going to ask.

"Don't ask, 'cause I don't want to talk about it." Then he faces her. "So, how are you doing?"

"Not so good, Master."

"Does it have anything to do with your panda friend, by any chance?" He gives her a concerned look.

Tigress looks up at him, and then down at the ground. She nods.

"I did a terrible thing, Master."

Cho-Pa sighs and walks towards her. He sits down on the floor against the wall next to her.

"Tigress?" He waits for her to look at him. He looks her in the eye.

"We need to talk."

* * *

Will Po forgive her for biting his head off? Or will he probably bite back?


	13. Lost

I do not own Kung Fu Panda.

* * *

**Dragon Heart**

**Secrets of the Dragons**

* * *

**Chapter 13**

**Lost**

One of the entrance doors of the temple opens.

Shifu and the others are just heading outside to go to the training hall for the afternoon. Then they see Po enter the temple with a sad look on his face.

"Po?" Viper says. "Po, what's wrong?"

She slithers closer to the panda, and the others follow. Po looks at Viper and sighs, looking down at the ground.

"Well, Tigress hates me now." He plops down on his butt.

Viper and the others are shocked, but they don't actually believe it. She slithers closer. "What do you mean?"

"She just does, okay?" Po says in anger. "I went to bring her some lunch, and she refused and said some mean stuff to me and..." He sighs.

Crane walks up and puts a wing on Po's back. "Po, you need to chill, alright? Tigress doesn't hate you. She is just... depressed, that's all. That can make a person mad at anything. Just give her a chance to cool down. It'll be fine."

Then Mantis steps closer. "Are you alright, Po? You look like you're going to be sick."

"Just wait until you lose your best friend and see how you feel," Po says giving the insect an angry glare.

Viper curls her tail around the panda's wrist. "Po, you haven't lost her. She needs to calm down. She will apologize."

"Yeah, right," Po says sarcastically. He doubts this, but then he does consider the whole depression thing. "Well... I don't know."

"She will, Po," the snake reassures him. She gives Po a smile of confidence. "Just give her time."

Po sighs. "I certainly hope so."

He then stands back up and looks at all of the masters. He still doesn't feel very hopeful that Tigress would even consider apologizing.

"I'm going back to the barracks. I need to rest for a bit." He turns around and walks away. "At least I know she won't try to kill me for doing that."

He closes the door behind him. The masters look at each other concerned, hoping that Po and Tigress will make up and be friends again. Then the door opens again. Po pops his head inside.

"Sorry. Were you leaving? I'll just leave this open."

Po leaves with the door left open. The masters show small amused smiles, but they still feel worried about the two warriors.

* * *

After another five minutes of walking, Po reaches the barracks. He just needs a little afternoon nap and he'll be fine, hopefully. Then maybe he can try and talk to Tigress again, and maybe even apologize for bringing her soup... and for caring. Po feels a little bit of anger at these thoughts.

Rest. That is what he needs. Maybe a little mind-clearing meditation would help too. He needs to get rid of the troubled thoughts in his head. They are starting to confuse him.

Po enters the barracks and sees the hallway is a mess from Tigress' room to the exit. It's almost like there was some sort of fight here. Tigress' door is wide open.

Tigress!

Po is suddenly struck by fear as he runs to the room. He stops in front of it and looks inside to see Cho-Pa sitting on the bed, looking like he's panicking. The old master is tapping his chin in thought. Po runs inside the room.

"Master Cho-Pa!"

Cho-Pa looks up to see the Dragon Warrior. He stands up. "Ah, Dragon Warrior, I'm glad you came by! Something terrible has happened. Someone took your tiger friend. We were just talking, until someone arrived and attacked me. Then he took Tigress!"

Cho-Pa starts pacing around the room. "I tried to stop him, but when he got outside, he just disappeared into thin air. I tried to think about how he had done it, but I couldn't."

"What did he look like?" Po asks.

"Just a dark cloak. I couldn't see a face. I tried to find out where she has been taken, but I can't get a vision."

"Well, then how are we going to find her?"

Cho-Pa sounds angry, but still panicky. "I don't know!" He continues pacing until he finally gets an idea. "Wait! I know what to do!"

Po looks at Cho-Pa excitedly. "What? What?!"

"There is something I have in my quarters that might be able to help us find her."

"What? What is it?!" Po is so practically bouncing with eagerness.

"I'll explain later. Right now we must make haste." He sticks the staff down the back of his robe and he dashes out of the room on all fours. "Hurry!"

Po follows right behind. Cho-Pa moves quite fast up the hill towards the temple. Po does his best to keep up, but his chubby legs slow him down a little. But he can still maintain a good speed.

* * *

Cho-Pa bursts into the council chamber, with Po on his panda's "good speed" obviously doesn't make up for duration. The panda is panting as he rolls off of Cho-Pa's back, landing on his own back, and pants heavily.

"Thanks, man."

"No problem. Come on."

"You know, you've... you've got a... a lot of energy... for an old guy."

"With the way I have been training, of course I do."

Cho-Pa jumps up onto the table and jumps off as he heads towards the stairs that lead to his quarters. Po breathes heavily as he tries to catch up to the old master. He heads around the table to get to the stairs.

Cho-Pa bursts through the entrance to his quarters. This place doesn't look like much. It is more like one of the houses from the city than what a leader would be living in. He runs across the room and opens a bunch of drawers.

"Where is it? Come on." He continues whispering to himself, and then he closes the drawers and looks around. Then he sees something that makes his eyes widen.

Po is climbing the stairs towards the door. He stops for a short while to catch his breath. Then he hears a voice yell.

"Dragon Warrior!"

Cho-Pa's voice rings in Po's ears, followed by a thud, like a body hitting the floor. Po suddenly feels a burst of energy as he climbs the stairs quickly. Then he kicks the door down, with a fighting yell, expecting to see an enemy.

Then he feels a sharp pain in his stomach and he starts to feel dizzy. Everything becomes blurry. Po looks down and can barely make out the shape of a purple-feathered dart sticking out of his stomach. He tries to grab it, but he misses. Then he falls to his knees. The last thing he manages to see is Master Cho-Pa lying on the floor unconscious, and then Po falls onto his back. Then he blacks out.

* * *

The striped feline opens her eyes. She groans as she lifts her face out of the dirt. She slowly pushes herself up with her arms. She groans at her aching body, and she sits on her knees. She looks around to figure out where she is.

Where is she? This place doesn't look familiar to her. It doesn't look like the forest in the city. That's because it's not. What is she doing here? She then remembers something. She remembers the man who brought her here. Tigress' eyes widen.

The others have to know. She must warn them. She needs to tell them who this man is. She recognizes him from the Jade City temple. He works there, but as cover.

Tigress stands up, unsteadily. She regains her balance and turns towards looks around. How can she get out of here? How far into the forest is she? How can she get back in time to warn Po and the others about who their enemy really is?

Po.

Her last memory of Po hits her like a brick to the head. She had treated him badly, breaking his sensitive little heart. She had ripped their friendship to pieces.

She had hoped that she would get a chance to apologize, but now she will never be able to. But will he even forgive her anyway? She wouldn't blame him if he didn't.

But maybe he will understand why.

She shakes her head. No time to worry about that now. She must get back to the city and help stop this evil monster.

She runs through the forest in the direction she determines to be west. She must hurry. They don't know who he is. The man they have been looking for has been under their noses the whole time, the man who isn't a man at all. He is the one dragon they thought to have been dead.

Siwang.

* * *

Siwang is the main antagonist in here. Could he have been the one who ambushed Po and Cho-Pa? As said in an earlier chapter Siwang needs Po for something. What is it? Will Tigress get back in time to help the others?


	14. Uncovered Secrets

I do not own Kung Fu Panda. That just sucks, like, big-time!

* * *

**Dragon Heart**

**Secrets of the Dragons**

* * *

**Chapter 14**

**Uncovered Secrets**

Po finally opens his eyes.

The panda's vision is blurry, and when he tries to rub his eyes, he finds that he is unable to move. He blinks several times, trying to clear his vision.

He looks at his hands, which are tied to the arms of a chair he is sitting in. He also notices that he is tied around his torso. The ropes loop around his body, arms, and legs multiple times to avoid having him escape.

He looks around the room he is in. It looks like a small little shack or something. It is pretty small, but also poorly built. It looks almost like children built it. There are a few chairs in the center of the structure. He sees Cho-Pa sitting on one of them, facing away from Po.

Did he manage to get himself free? How did he do it? And why is he wearing a cape?

Cho-Pa is wearing a purple cape with silver dragons on it facing each other. Nevertheless, Po is happy to see the old master.

"Master Cho-Pa! You're free! Great. Can you help me out of this before... whoever comes back?"

Cho-Pa stands up and turns around to face Po. "I'm afraid I can't do that, Dragon Warrior."

Po sees Cho-Pa wearing different clothes. He is wearing a purple vest with a black trim. The vest is similar to Tigress', except for the color and the silver dragon design on it. He is wearing a pair of pants that are also purple and slightly baggy, while the black trim at the bottom of the legs wrap tightly around the snow leopard's ankles. Tied around his waist is a wide black sash with a narrower silver belt tied around the sash. The panda is actually quite impressed at how well the contrasting colors go together.

"So..." Po says, "...why not?"

Cho-Pa glares at the panda with a smirk on his face. His arms are crossed as he takes a few steps towards him. "Why don't you take a guess?"

Po begins to think about some of the things that are a little out of place about Cho-Pa. Apparently, he is able to walk without his staff. The staff is in a corner of the little shack. And why is Cho-Pa wearing different clothes? He wore his regular stuff last time Po remembers. But this new look does suit the old snow leopard.

But he is also not tied to a chair. What is up with that? He has just been roaming around freely while Po is still tied up. Why couldn't Cho-Pa have untied him earlier? Seeing the old man's smile, it's almost as if...

Po looks at Cho-Pa as he now realizes what is going on. "You lied to us," he says as Cho-Pa just smiles. "You are involved in this. You... you're working with... _It_, that thing we were looking for. You have something to do with the way people have behaved."

Cho-Pa chuckles evilly. "Yes, you are correct, Dragon Warrior."

Po looks at the old man confused. "Really? How'd I figured that out?"

"Except for one thing, I am not working for what we were looking for; I am what we were looking for." Cho-Pa smiles. Po stares at the leopard, surprised. "You see, Dragon Warrior, I am not Master Cho-Pa, I am Siwang."

Po's eyes widen as much as they can go. "Siwang? The Dragon of Death?"

Siwang chuckles again. "Yes."

"But I thought Oogway had killed you."

Siwang laughs in amusement. "Killed me?" Then he stops laughing and talks angrily. "Don't be a fool. A dragon can only be killed by another dragon. That stupid tortoise stole half of my dragon power. I could not change into my dragon form. I was stuck like this." He gestures to himself.

He gives Po an evil smile. "But now I finally have the chance to take back the rest of my power, which you hold."

Po looks confused. "What? Me? How do I have your power? I was not born, like, a hundred years ago, so I don't—"

Siwang slaps his paw on his head. "No, you stupid—" Then he sighs. "It's the scroll, okay? The Dragon Scroll! Did Oogway not tell you anything about its true power at all?"

"Yeah, I realized that it's not power that makes you great."

Siwang turns his back to Po. "That's not it at all. That scroll is what he put the other half of my power in when he defeated me. And he waited to give the scroll to whoever was worthy to be able to take the scroll and use its evil power for good. Then somehow, he chose you."

Po yells angrily at Siwang. "Well, apparently he must have sensed that ability in me! Do you not remember what I did?"

Siwang turns to face Po again. "Yes, I do. You killed my grandson, and you killed Shen, and it was all because of that half of my power you received. Oogway made the best choice for the Dragon Warrior, but he was a fool to think that you would be able to defeat me."

"Oogway was not a fool!" Po says, insulted by the leopard's words. "He was a wise master, the creator of kung fu."

Siwang's face moves closer to the panda's. "Kung fu is nothing! It may have saved you several times before, but it won't save you now." He holds out his hand and his staff flies into his hand. "Now, if you don't mind, I am going to take back the rest of my power."

Then Siwang jabs the tip of his staff into the panda's bouncy stomach, not really hurting him that much because of that. In fact, Po almost giggles a little bit.

Then he starts giving little painful yelps as he feels something burning inside, like something is being sucked out of his body. His body weakens as he feels the burn travel from all over his body to the part of his stomach the staff is poking.

Then the golden staff and the jewels that decorate it start to glow. The jade colored jewels change color to white. As the staff glows brighter, the pain gets worse for Po. His yelling get louder, turning into a deafening scream as the burning continues.

Then Po stops and his head drops. Siwang waits for one more second to make sure he got every bit of his dragon power out of the panda. He looks at his staff in excitement.

"Yes. Yes!" He holds the staff towards the ceiling. "I've finally got it!"

He lowers his staff. "At last, after all these years, I have finally regained my full dragon power."

Siwang raises his staff, pointing it towards the ceiling again. Then the jewels start to glow. "And now, it is time to bring back what I have been denied for a hundred years." The staff gets brighter and brighter. "Once again, I am finally able to take my dragon form!"

Then a huge explosion of blinding light is released from the tip of the staff. Nothing can be seen but whiteness.

* * *

Soon all the white disappears, and Po opens his eyes to find himself lying on the ground. The ropes that held him to the chair are very loose now and he slides his arms out. Then he moves the rope from over his head. He looks up and realizes that the ceiling is gone, and he stares at the blue sky. By the position of the sun, it looks like it is evening.

The panda sits up and looks around. The walls are gone too. They're just lying flat on the ground. The chairs are destroyed, and Po realizes that he is in top of a mountain outside the city. No wonder it felt chillier just now. Siwang is missing as well.

Where did he go?

Then Po's hands fly to his ears as he hears an earsplitting roar coming from behind him. Then he ducks his head at the sound of flapping getting closer, and he feels air rush at him as something flies above him. Po looks back up and his eyes and mouth open wide in shock.

A dragon is flying in the air. His primary scales are pure white, but the underside is covered in just plain brown scales. Po can see the sunlight coming through his thin wings. On each of his wings are two clawed toes, which he usually uses to assist in climbing. The reptile has a long tail with spikes sticking out of the sides at the end of it. His neck is quite long too, stretching longer than his body and almost as long as his tail.

He has a pretty large snout, almost square-shaped, and a few teeth stick out of the sides of his mouth. As he roars again his forked tongue becomes visible. Also on each side of his snout are several very short whiskers that sort of curl around, not hanging in any particular direction. Two skinny horns stick out of his head, pointing behind him. His eyes are glowing white, making his pupils invisible. They are placed on the sides of his head, but also a bit towards the front, so he can still see what is in front of him.

The dragon turns his head towards Po and flies towards him, roaring loudly. Po stands up and tries to leave, but then he falls right back down when the dragon lands right above him. Po rolls over and stares at the dragon. Siwang stands over him, no taller than a T-Rex, which is a lot smaller than people used to think the size of dragons were.

Siwang stares back down at Po, who is utterly terrified by the sight of the dragon. The dragon smiles evilly. He then speaks in a much deeper voice.

"Hmm... still not complete. There is still something missing." He starts thinking about what the last part is that will truly make him who he was again.

"No matter. I will find it later. But first, thank you, Dragon Warrior, for bringing me back." He laughs, making Po even more scared. "Now that I have almost my full power, I hope you don't mind if I borrow you for a little while. We need to take care of some friends of yours."

He flies up into the air and then he flies down, straight at Po. The panda panics and screams loudly as Siwang seems to enter Po's body through his stomach.

Po stops screaming and looks around. No Siwang. Then he feels his stomach and sees nothing but his own fur. Po is not entirely sure what the dragon did, but it starts to worry him a lot.

"What... what did you just do?!" Po quickly stands up. "What did you do?!" he asks louder.

Then suddenly his face looks shocked, but then it slowly turns into an evil grin. Po then speaks in his own voice, but with Siwang's accent.

"Come, Dragon Warrior." Then he walks down the mountain to head back to the Jade City.

"Let's go for a walk."

* * *

Uh oh. Siwang has taken control of Po. How will Po regain control over his own body? Will Shifu be able to stop Siwang from killing him and his students without having to kill Po?

Man, that poor panda is having a really frustrating day.


	15. The Enemy Attacks First

So, Po has been taken over and he must deal with his friends. How will he ever get out of it, if there is any way at all?

I do not own Kung Fu Panda.

* * *

**Dragon Heart**

**Secrets of the Dragons**

* * *

**Chapter 15**

**The Enemy Attacks First**

"Has anyone seen Po or Tigress yet?"

Shifu is sitting in the floor in front of his bed, meditating, worried about the two missing warriors. Surely they did not run away, but he is concerned for their safety.

Viper appears at Shifu's door. "Not yet, Master." She heads back to the exit.

The other students are cleaning up the areas of the barracks that were a mess that Cho-Pa had discovered. All mantis could really do, though is make sure that everything that was hanging on the walls or sitting on tabletops were straightened or still standing.

Shifu continues to meditate on the disappearances of Po and Tigress. Hopefully, they are alright. It could certainly be possible that Tigress tried to leave in her depression and Po went after her. Or maybe they are both in the residential part of the city. Or maybe...

Maybe they are under _Its _control.

Shifu opens his eyes and looks at the ground. Deep in his heart, he hopes that they are not being controlled. They could destroy him and the other students. He does not want to hurt his students, but if he really had to, he would. But it would be difficult, especially after Tai Lung.

The old master is just too worried to continue meditating, so he stands up and leaves the room, closing the door behind him. His students stop and look at him, like they are expecting him to say something.

"Just keep working. I'm going to talk with Master Cho-Pa. He might be able to figure out where Po and Tigress are. I will be sure to let you all know what he says."

His students nod and continue cleaning. Shifu turns and walks towards the door, still thinking about what could have happened to the two.

When he gets outside and closes the door, he is greeted by one of the missing warriors.

Po.

A smile comes to Shifu's face and he walks closer to the panda. "Po, where have you been? We have been trying to find you." Then he looks around. "Where's Tigress?"

Po looks sort of freaked out as he says, "Master Shifu, you and the others need to get out of here right now."

Shifu raises an eyebrow in confusion. "What? Why?"

"It's Siwang!"

Shifu looks shocked as well as the other warriors who have been listening ever since they heard Shifu say Po's name. They can be seen with their heads out the door with shocked looks on their faces.

"Siwang?!" Shifu exclaims. "But he's dead."

Po's accent changes. "Oh, but I am not, Shifu."

Shifu looks up at the panda's evil smile. "Po, you're Siwang?" His shock turns a little bit to confusion.

The panda Siwang frowns. "No. Your Dragon Warrior was what I needed to regain all my power. And now that I have it back, I will use him to destroy you."

"What are you talk—"

Before Shifu can finish, Siwang pushes his paw towards him, and without even being touched, the red panda flies back and hits the wall of the barracks. He groans in pain when he lands on the ground.

The other warriors exit the building and head towards Siwang to attack without ending up killing Po. Shifu stands back up to join the fight.

But before any of them can act, the panda has his paws in front of him and he swings them back, causing all the warriors to fly back.

"I have no time to fight with you! I intend to destroy the entire planet and I will see it through. But since I can't afford to have you getting in the way..."

Cho-Pa then points his arm towards the building. The walls of the structure are breaking at the bottom, and soon Siwang lifts his arm, making the building hover in the air.

Unlike the citizens, Po is completely aware of what's going on as his body is being controlled. He is watching everything that is happening around him. He struggles as much as he can to regain control and save his master and his friends.

But trying to take over from the dark power of a dragon is next to impossible.

Shifu and his students find themselves unable to move as it moves directly above them. They stare up in fear. Enjoying the sight of fear, Siwang gives another menacing smile as he drops his arm down, and the building comes down on them. Shifu closes his eyes.

"No!"

The old master knows that the scream had come from the panda. But what is going on now? Where is the pain or death he should have received from being crushed by the building?

Shifu opens his eyes and sees it hovering half a foot above him. Then he looks at the panda, whose face is now covered with fear and worry, as he holds his arm out, causing the building to float above them.

Could it be? Po had taken control of himself again?

Po's worried look changes to a mixture of anger and shock as Siwang takes control again. "What are you doing, Dragon Warrior?!"

Then his faces changes again as Po says, "I can't let you kill them!"

"Let go!"

"No! I will not let you do this!"

Then the panda gives a threatening yell. "Let go, Dragon Warrior, or I will kill you right now!"

"Wait, wait! Can't you just listen to me? Can't you just do something else with them, but just let them live?"

Siwang scowls, but cannot seem to let out a real growl, more like a groan, due to him now using the panda's own voice. "Like what?"

* * *

Tigress starts to shiver. She has wandered for several hours already trying to get back to the Jade City, in the freezing cold of the mountains.

This is the coldest temperature she had ever felt on a mountain. Siwang must have altered the temperature here. He is most likely trying to stop her from reaching the city so she cannot get to her friends.

But she cannot give up. Not now. She must get there, no matter how cold it gets.

Who is she kidding? She is out here with nothing warm on and she is trudging her way through all this snow, with an icy sting on her face from the ice cold wind.

She holds on tightly to her arms, trying to warm them up, at least, the parts that still have feeling. Her face shows the utmost fear for her friends. How can she save them when she has to get past all this cold? She will freeze before she gets there. Taking this route is suicide, and she knew that earlier. But she never imagined it would get this cold.

Tigress continues on, hoping that she will get over this stupid frozen mountain soon. But it feels like forever. But she is too stubborn to give up, not seeing how pointless all of this is.

After a few more minutes, Tigress starts to feel really dizzy, and that icy feeling stinging her face and her arms is gone, replaced with numbness. Her legs feel weaker and she can barely keep her eyes open. She almost stumbles, but keeps moving.

She can't stop... not now. She must keep moving. She must stay strong.

But her body defies her, and she falls to the ground flat on her face.

This was a stupid idea. She should have just gone around to find the main entrance. But that would have taken longer. But at least she would have gotten there _alive_.

But now she will never reach the city. She cannot lift herself up, for she would fall back down from her weak arms. This time, Tigress finally gives up on everything, her friends, her master, her home...

Her life.

Tigress is filled entirely with hopelessness. She will never reach her friends, and they might never find her dead body. She hopes that they will destroy Siwang and live on their lives, and they will all continue with their usual doings at the Jade Palace.

She misses them all, Mantis, Crane, Monkey, Viper...

Po. She will miss him the most.

Tigress feels pain in her heart as she remembers the last moments the spent together, with her yelling at him an he had wished that she became the Dragon Warrior. Then they would never have met.

She will never get to apologize to Po for what she did. Now she will die with Po thinking that she hated him, and her knowing he hated her. She will die as the monster that he had once tamed, but has now returned.

She deserves this. She deserves the death that is overcoming her. Po doesn't deserve her. He can find better friends. Friends who won't yell at him for stupid reasons. Friends like the Furious Five. They will treat him better.

Tigress feels her heart slow down, and she relaxes her body and closes her eyes. Her head slowly lowers to the ground.

She lays there motionless in the snow. But then she is approached by a hooded figure in a green cloak. When the figure spots her, he rushes to her, kneeling down.

The figure removes his hood to reveal Hun Yao underneath. He flips the tiger over and puts his ear to her chest, listening for a heartbeat. There is one but it is very slow.

He puts part of his cloak over her and picks her up, using both the cloak and his own body heat to keep her warm. The panda shivers as he holds her sideways against his chest, as it is the only way to keep her warm and under the cloak. He continues walking to the Jade City. He must bring her help.

She hasn't much time left.

* * *

Will Tigress survive? Let us hope so. And if Gang said it would take weeks, then how did Yao get there in a couple days? More will be explained in a later chapter.


	16. Aim For The Heart

I do not own Kung Fu Panda. And I never will.

* * *

**Dragon Heart**

**Secrets of the Dragons**

* * *

**Chapter 16**

**Aim For The Heart**

Shifu glares at Siwang.

Shifu and his students are inside Siwang's quarters. Po managed to deal with Siwang, saying that if he keeps them prisoner, they won't try to attack him or escape, because they all know that he would.

So, that is partly the reason the warriors have been left unbound. Siwang wants to make sure that they will not do either, and if they did, he could kill them. And he will do it so easily. He could kill them all at once without even touching them.

He is a dragon, and dragons have powers that nobody can even imagine. They are the strongest beings on the planet. They can destroy the world just as easily as they can save it. However, to save it from an evil dragon is a totally different thing.

Shifu and Siwang are sitting on chairs facing each other. Siwang is sitting with one arm resting on the back of his chair. The red panda just glares angrily at the panda, not at Po, but at the evil dragon itself. Luckily, Po knows that and feels just as angry as Shifu, and for the same reason.

Because of the fact that Siwang has taken control of Po's body. Why can't he just get out? What use will the Dragon Warrior be in the evil dragon's possession? What does he plan to do that he needs him for?

After many several minutes of staring, Siwang leans forward towards Shifu. "You know. If you keep making that face, it might freeze that way."

Shifu finally sighs and talks. "Why are you doing this?" His voice is low and threatening. "What do you want with my Dragon Warrior?"

"Simple, power. That was the whole point of this. I knew if I could lure you here, I would be one step closer to taking back the power that was stolen from me. And now I have, and once again, I have taken my place as the Dragon of Death."

"But what does this have to do with Po?"

"It has everything to do with him. He's the one who contained the rest of my power, but I have finally restored it."

"How did Po get your power? I don't understand."

Siwang sighs in annoyance. Must he explain everything to these idiots? "The Dragon Scroll, Shifu. I am actually very surprised that Master Oogway never told you the whole truth about it. It's the Dragon Scroll. That's the power the panda had received. When Oogway defeated me, he trapped part of me in that scroll; waiting to give it to a warrior he knew would be worthy to possess the power of the scroll and use its evil powers to do good for others. The minute the panda opened the scroll, all of that power transferred into him."

Shifu is surprised at this. Why hadn't Oogway told him about this? Well, he did have a pretty strange habit of explaining things in riddles sometimes, but nothing he ever said had anything to do with this at all.

The panda stands up and paces around the room. "That stupid old tortoise left me unable to change into my dragon form, and I was stuck as a leopard. But he apparently had no idea of the power I still had."

Shifu still has questions he wants answered. "Why did you take over the Dragon Warrior's body?"

Siwang sits back down and smiles evilly. Shifu returns with a glare of anger and hate.

"Oh, I have a very special plan that highly involves him. I have always admired his strength, his courage, his persistence. He killed my grandson. He defeated my army of wolves along with Shen." He looks at Shifu's slightly shocked expression when he mentions the wolves. "And as a child, he managed to escape the attack I set on his village. He has survived so much. But despite all of that, the panda's heart is a little more fragile."

Siwang stands back up and walks towards a window behind Shifu. Shifu keeps his eyes on him. "What do you mean?"

"Well, simply that the Dragon Warrior cares a lot about you and your students. He would do anything for them." Siwang stops walking when he reaches the window, and he looks outside. "He wouldn't bear to lose any of you." Then he gives another menacing grin, still looking outside at the stars in the sky.

"Especially one warrior in particular."

Shifu looks at his student, who all have worried looks on their faces. They know who he is talking about. Out of all of the Furious Five, there was one that Po had formed a stronger friendship with:

Tigress.

Then another question enters his mind. "Where is Tigress?"

Siwang nods. "Ah, yes, the tiger. A very fine young woman, very strong, and very beautiful, just like her mother."

Shifu just stares at Siwang, want him to tell more about how he knows Tigress' biological mother.

"Meili was a master here, a long time ago. She was one of the best of the council. She always knew how to win an argument. But she knew too well how. I unintentionally revealed to her who I was, and she threatened to tell everyone else."

He turns around to face the red panda, who is taking an interest in this story, but is beyond angry at Siwang. "I couldn't let her do that. I had to stop her, and there was only one way to do that. I had to track her down and destroy her. She left with her husband and daughter. I found them both, and I killed them, but... I could not find the daughter."

Shifu looks surprised and angered at the truth of Tigress' arrival at the Bao Gu Orphanage. He and Tigress had spent many years wondering how she got there. Eventually, Tigress had gone under the impression that her parents never wanted her, just like all the other parents who wouldn't pick her. She hadn't really reacted to that thought in sadness, like he thought she would have, but she acted out in anger, hating her parents for leaving her behind.

But now Shifu had finally found the reason for them to do so, and he will have to tell Tigress when this is all over.

"So that was you?" Po manages to get out before Siwang takes control again.

"Indeed, Dragon Warrior. I couldn't have them telling everyone who I was, so I had to stop them."

Po took control again. "Where is Tigress?" Po's anger starts to burn up, but he is also filled with concern for her safety.

"She is somewhere outside the city, trying to get back to warn you all about me." Siwang laughs. "But it looks like she's a little late, huh?" He continues laughing. The others now understand who he could have brought Tigress out there in only ten minutes.

"Don't worry, I didn't control her, I brought her there myself. But I know now that she is back in the city, and this is where your Dragon Warrior comes in."

Shifu's fury flares up at the evil side of the panda. "What are you planning to do to her?!"

Siwang walks back towards his chair. "She is going to have to face the one she cares about in a fight. And I will see to it that the panda watches every minute of it."

"Why?!" Shifu's anger is almost boiling to the top. Siwang can see it in his eyes.

Siwang makes a small chuckle. "Because I'm going to make him kill her. And he will watch her die slowly."

This feeling inside Master Shifu is far beyond rage. He wants to kill this Dragon of Death, but he doesn't, for if he did, he would be killing Po. Not to mention the fact that he won't be able to. Only a dragon can kill another. Shifu remains in control as he continues to glare angrily at Siwang.

"You see, Shifu, I have a certain way of running things. I have one rule about killing someone I am in control of." He pauses for a few seconds.

"I always aim for the heart first."

* * *

Uh oh, looks like Siwang is gonna force Po to kill his best friend. Does this sound familiar? Will she be able to keep herself safe from harm? Or will it turn out with the same results as her dream?

Meili = beautiful


	17. A Nightmare Brought To Life

There is mention of squirrels in here. I don't know if there are squirrels in China. And I don't know if Wikipedia is the best place to look. But I just put them in here anyway. And by the way, I always feel like I suck at writing fighting scenes. I don't know what you think.

By the way, I will be copying and pasting several parts of another chapter onto this one, and I'm sure you will get the point of it. But I will make some changes to what I paste.

I do not own Kung Fu Panda.

* * *

**Dragon Heart**

**Secrets of the Dragons**

* * *

**Chapter 17**

**A Nightmare Brought To Life**

Warmth.

That is the first thing Tigress wakes up to, the warmth of a nice soft blanket that is covering her. She has no idea where she is, but she doesn't want to get up.

Then her eyes suddenly snap open.

Wait. Where _is _she?

She looks around, but realizes that her vision is blurry. She rubs her eyes and her vision clears. She takes a look around the room. This bedroom is a little bigger than her own at the Jade Palace. The entire house is made entirely out of wood.

Kind of boring.

From the empty walls, Tigress can surely guess that whoever lives here isn't very decorative. But then again, neither is she, so she doesn't really care. She sees over a dozen blankets covering her body.

Tigress slides out of the blankets and sits at the edge of the large bed. She touches her face, and sighs with relief. At least her face can feel again. If she had stayed out there any longer, her nerves would no longer be of use.

Next time, she goes through the front gate.

Tigress tries to stand, but her legs wobble and she sits on the bed again. She tries again, but this time she uses the bed for support. She tries to stay on her feet, and she does. Then she lets go of the bed and straightens up. She almost loses her balance, but is still standing. And now it is time for the final test.

She takes one step forward towards the door, and wobbles a little. She puts her paws on the wall. She is still standing. Another step, she's doing a little better. A couple more steps, there is no wobble in her legs, but she still feels a little unsteady. Then she takes her paws off the wall and walks towards the door.

She mentally pats herself on the back when she touches the door. Then she opens it enough for her to poke her head out and look down the hallway. There appears to be nobody in the hall. Tigress' ears act like radars as she listens for anybody else who might be here. It is dead quiet inside the house.

She opens the door wider and step into the hallway. "Hello?" she calls, only to receive no response.

She walks down the hallway, still slightly unbalanced, but it returns when she reaches the kitchen. She looks around for someone who might live there. "Hello?" she calls louder.

There is still no answer. Whose home is this? Why is there nobody here?

Tigress is confused, but continues walking through the house. She shortly finds the exit. She walks to the door. Maybe whoever might live here is outside somewhere.

She opens the door, and finds herself in a forest again. But this time she is familiar with it. She is most likely within city boundaries. She looks at all of the trees. Their leaves become a beautiful sight as the orange light of the rising sun shines on them. Tigress feels a short moment of peace before she remembers what she is supposed to be doing.

"Hello?!"

Though her call was louder, the only response she got was a few squirrels scattering about, heading up the trees. Tigress walks through the forest looking around for any sign of company in the area. She hears rustling, which sounds rather suspicious. It is too loud to have been made by any squirrel or other small animal. If it was friendly company, she would most likely have been greeted by someone.

She is certain that it is not friendly.

Tigress keeps walking as she feels her body tense up. She must be ready to fight, if anything comes out to attack her. She hears more rustling and looks in the directions they came from. Nothing is visible, but she only manages to get a quick glimpse of someone's tail.

She walks into a large open area, which would make a good arena, and stands in the middle of it, letting the creatures know that she is aware of their presence. Her paws clench into fists as she waits for the first attack.

Then soon a small group of four wolves run out from the trees and attack. Tigress jumps back as one wolf tries to kick her. Then she grabs his foot and Kicks him in the face, sending him stumbling back. Two more try to punch her, but she blocks the attacks with her arms, and punches one hard in the face, and the other in the stomach.

Another wolf tries to swing a paw at Tigress, but misses when she ducks. Then she kicks him in the face, making hit his head against a tree. He then hits the ground unconscious.

Another one jumps into the air and tries to kick her, but she moves aside and he ends up kicking another wolf. Then he runs at her and starts punching and kicking her. She blocks most of the attacks, but she does take a few hits.

As the only other wolf comes at her, she grabs the hand of the one she is fighting now and swings him at the other wolf, resulting in a kick to the face. He is then knocked out. Tigress kicks the wolf hard in the stomach.

Two more wolves come in to attack. Tigress does a roundhouse kick, knocking one wolf out. The other swings an ax at her, but she ducks out of the way and punches the wolf in the face and he falls to the ground. She eases out of her fighting stance, but her stance returns when she hears a voice.

"Hey, nice moves Tigress."

She lowers her stance when she realizes that Po is walking up to her with his hands behind his back. The tiger smiles and nods. "Thanks, Po."

The panda gives her a teasing smile, "Maybe you'll be more awesome than me one day."

Tigress then remembers the nightmare. She knows what Po is going to do. Trying not to look suspicious of the panda, she lets out a light chuckle as she shakes her head. "Right."

Wait for it.

Po then looks a little more serious. "Hey, uh, Tigress, there is something I have to tell you."

That is when Tigress acts quickly. She leans far back as Po swing a dagger at her. When her hands touch the ground, she kicks her legs up, knocking the dagger into the air. Her feet fly over her head and touch the ground. Then she does a back flip in the air as she catches the dagger. She lands on the ground and defends herself against Po.

No. Not Po, Siwang.

But the panda doesn't really attack her, but he just kicks her hand and the dagger flies in the air again. He jumps into the air and catches it. Then he lands and kicks her in the stomach. The tiger flies across the open area and slams into a tree. She spins off to the side a few meters away from the tree.

The panda gives an evil laugh as he walks to the tiger. Tigress curls up with her hands on her stomach. The pain she feels is more intense than anything she has ever felt. She tries to talk, but she is unable to. She rolls over onto her knees, breathing heavily, taking in the air that has been knocked out of her. She uses a tree to slowly stand back up.

Her stomach burns severely as she straightens her back. Then she turns around and tries to attack Siwang, but she is weak and the panda grabs her hand and smiles evilly.

Then Tigress feels pain instantly shoot through her body, starting from her stomach.

She screams in agony and she automatically presses her paws against the pain, expecting it to be bleeding. She looks down and sees an open wound, gushing blood. She puts pressure on it, hoping that the blood will stop leaking. She panics when she sees that it doesn't seem to be working.

She looks at the panda. Siwang now has an evil smile on his face as he does a few fancy toss-and-catch tricks with the bloody dagger. Tigress' eyes widen, and she looks back up at the panda.

How could this have happened? She knew what he was going to do, and she tried to stop it, but he stabbed her anyway.

He is Siwang. He is the Dragon of Death. Dragons have powers you do not want to mess with. That is how he was able to do it.

Her entire body feels weak. She tries to stand, but her legs keep failing. When she lands on her hands and knees she feels more pain surge through her. She blinks a couple times, screaming in her mind that this is nothing but a nightmare.

But no. This is the real thing.

She winces in pain. Her voice comes out weak and strained. "What... what are you doing? Why are you doing this?"

Siwang ignores the question, and he walks closer to her, an evil laugh leaving his throat. "So much for the hardcore Master Tigress. If you really were, this probably wouldn't have happened."

Tigress gives him a weak angry snarl. Siwang holds up his right index finger.

"Ah, watch the temper. You certainly don't want me to kill you right now, do you? But of course, I don't want to have to do that... yet. I want you to see you suffer."

The tiger's eyes fill up with anger, trying to cover the sadness she really feels inside. She gives a low growl.

"And your boyfriend is going to watch."

Tigress looks up. He never said that in her dream before.

The evil panda continues talking. "Did you really think that you and the Dragon Warrior could ever actually be friends?" He looks into her eyes. "Who could possibly want to become friends with a monster like you?"

The word "monster" no longer comes as a surprise to her. He is right. She sure acted like one towards Po yesterday. Po probably hates her now. If he does, then she deserves it. She looks at the panda with sadness in her eyes, but still tries to cover it with the anger that also burns inside her.

"Yeah, I know what happened, what you did to him. Oh boy, does he hate you." Siwang chuckles. "Neither him, your master, nor your friends care about you," he continues. "They don't love you. They never have and they never will."

Tigress' body shakes as she tries to force herself to hit the panda away from her, but her body will not allow her. Siwang smiles, amused that tigress is still trying to show her former emotionless self.

"Well, do you think you have suffered enough, you pathetic waste of fur?"

The tiger squeezes her eyes shut, beginning to feel the hopelessness overwhelm her. Her eyes start to tear up, and she tries to talk, but has a rather difficult time.

"Just kill me," she says quietly.

Siwang doesn't hear what she says. "Pardon?"

She looks up at Siwang and gives a furious yell. "Kill me!"

Siwang jumps slightly. He looks surprised to hear her say that. Then he gives another menacing grin and a short chuckle. "So you've had enough, huh?" He pauses, waiting for Tigress to say something, but she stays silent. "Well, as you wish."

He takes several steps back before tossing the dagger in the air. He jumps up, spins, and kicks it. The dagger is flying directly toward the center of the tiger's chest, with the blade completely horizontal.

Tigress shuts her eyes tightly as she waits for the dagger to impale her body.

* * *

Uh oh. Tigress is in the worst kind of trouble now. What will happen?


	18. Reunion

I still do not own Kung Fu Panda.

* * *

**Dragon Heart**

**Secrets of the Dragons**

* * *

**Chapter 18**

**Reunion**

Where's the pain?

Tigress realizes that the dagger has not hit her at all. She opens her eyes, and looks down. The weapon has been caught by someone's hand. The whole arm is covered in black fur, and it has a tight grip on the dagger, of which the tip of the blade is only an inch from her body. She struggles to lift her head and look to her left. She widens her eyes in surprise.

It is another panda.

He looks almost exactly like Po, but a few decades older. He is wearing a green cloak over his brown pants and dark brown vest. He had some sort of golden pin attached to it. It is in the shape of a dragon. He stares at the younger panda with an angry expression.

Po finally takes over his body and stares at the older panda in complete shock.

"Dad?"

Tigress is even more surprised, and she feels a sudden burst of pain in her stomach, and she falls onto her side. Yao turns his attention to the tiger. He drops to his knees next to her. She is having difficulty breathing. She keeps choking on the air she takes in. She is unable to move, for her energy is being drained along with her blood.

Yao rolls her onto her back and puts pressure on her wound. Po walks forward, but Yao points a finger at him.

"Stop!" Po obeys. Then Yao squints as he stares at his son. Po wonders what he is doing, but he is sure that his dad is not mad at him or something. What is he doing then? Is he trying to get rid of Siwang using his mind or something? He stares at his dad confused.

"Um, what are you—"

Then he yells as Siwang flies out of Po's body and hovers in the air, his wings pushing air down at the pandas and the tiger. His face is full of confusion. "What happened? Why did I lose control?!"

He glares at Po, who just stares back up at the white reptile and shrugs.

"That would be me!"

Siwang's gaze turns to the older panda. The dragon's confusion grows. "You?" Then that is when he notices the gold pin attached to the panda's cloak.

When Siwang's eyes widen, Po look back at his dad, wondering what he is looking at. The dragon gives a low growl. "You... I thought I had killed you."

The older panda's threatening glare turns into sort of a sick look. The dragon smiles and gives a loud laugh. "It doesn't matter. You are sick." He looks at Po. "And you are weak. Your heart is too easy to break."

He continues. "I can destroy the world without having to deal with either of you." Then he starts to fly away, but he stops and looks at Yao. "Don't try and stop me again. You know how it'll end." Then he flies off towards the residential part of the city.

Po looks at his dad, whose breathing has become labored. One of his blood-covered paws presses against his own chest as he breathes heavily. Po looks concerned and walks towards him. "Dad, Are you okay?"

Yao speaks a little slower. "I've been... I've been having... heart attacks... minor ones. But they're... getting worse." Then his breathing steadies and starts to sound normal again. "But don't worry about me. Your friend here, she—" He sighs disappointedly. "She doesn't have much time left. I'm—" His breathing is back to normal and his paw goes back over his other one covering Tigress' wound. He sighs.

"I'm afraid she's gonna die."

A terrifying sadness overwhelms Po as he stares at Tigress. She shares the same look. Po looks at her wound as her body keeps squirming around in agony. Tigress had never experience pain like this. She never imagined it. And Po never imagined that something like this would _ever _happen to her.

The panda looks down at the blood-soaked dagger lying on the ground. Then he looks at the paw he held it in. His paw is also covered in her blood. Tears fill his eyes as he looks back at her. She shakes her head, hoping to let Po know that this isn't his fault. But just to make sure, she tries to smile at him, but the pain prevents her from doing so.

But Po looks into her eyes as she stares back into his. Her eyes seem to give him a comforting look, despite her physical appearance. He realizes that she is not blaming him, especially when she sends an angry look towards the direction the dragon flew, but trees block her sight. But Po gets the message.

But then something else confuses Po. "How did he even know you? And how did you get him to lose control of me?"

"I will explain later, Yen."

Po raises an eyebrow. "Yen?"

"That was your name, the one your mother and I gave you. Hun Yen." He looks down at Tigress, extremely worried.

"Po!"

The pandas draw their attention to Shifu and the other warriors. They are running to them. Po remembers Siwang setting them free earlier this morning, but not exactly remembering why. It seemed kind of pointless. They knew they would be too late to save her from Siwang's attack. Shifu calls again.

"Po! Siwang is heading—" The old master stops running along with the others, and they all stare at Tigress in horror.

They are all completely petrified at the sight of the injured tiger. Shifu starts to feel tears when he sees the darker red stain in her already red vest. He looks at the dagger on the ground, and then at Po's bloody paw. But neither he nor the rest of the Five seem to blame Po. Shifu's face is covered with sadness and fear that Tigress might not live. This makes seeing Po's dad a lot less surprising.

Po looks at his dad. "Dad, how long does she have, exactly?"

The older panda sighs. "I couldn't tell you, even if I knew."

It sounds to everyone that she doesn't have very long at all. Devastation drowns all of them. Then Shifu talks. "We have to get to Siwang and stop him."

"You can't," the older panda says. Then his breathing becomes labored again and he puts his paw to his chest. Po runs up to his dad and pats him on the back. "He can only... be... killed by... by... another dragon." He waits a moment for his heart to beat normally.

Meanwhile, Po starts thinking about his dad's words. "Or maybe someone with his power."

Everyone looks surprised. The older panda starts breathing normally as he looks at his son in confusion. "What do you mean, Yen?"

"When he lost control, he left some of his power behind. I can feel it. I can stop this. I have to. I'm probably the only one who can." Po looks at Tigress, her face pleading him not to go.

Po starts to regret his decision, but he feels that there is no other choice.

"Yen," Yao says as he places a paw on his son's shoulder. "You don't have to go."

Po looks his dad in the eye. "I have to, dad. If I don't, he'll destroy everything."

Yao hangs his head sadly. He knows this very well. Siwang has been bent on destroying the planet for a couple hundred years. He had tried to stop him once, but was nearly killed.

"Let me go with you. I can help."

"I'm sorry, dad, but I can't let you. Not in your condition. I have to do this alone." Seeing the worried look in his dad's eyes, he wishes he could come along. But it would be too dangerous, and too stressful for his heart. "I'm sorry."

Then he looks at Tigress, whose face shows the same worried look. "Don't worry, I'll be fine."

Tigress tries to talk, but nothing comes out, just a few painful groans. She starts to look dangerously sleepy. Po decides to leave as soon right now. He runs through the forest. Everyone watches him leave, partly unsure that Po will be successful. Everyone stays silent until Mantis calls out to the panda.

"Kick his ugly scaly butt!"

* * *

How does Po's dad know Siwang? How could he possibly have stood up against the evil dragon at some point and still be alive? What does that pin on Yao's cloak have to do with anything? There is more to this panda than you think.


	19. Terror Of The Dragon

There will be a story about the Dragon Guardians in my next story, in case you wanted to know.

I do not own Kung Fu Panda... This is the part where you say, "You think?"

* * *

**Dragon Heart**

**Secrets of the Dragons**

* * *

**Chapter 19**

**Terror Of The Dragon**

A rabbit opens her back door.

She is carrying a watering can and is starting to water her garden. There aren't a lot of people awake at the moment because it is still early in the morning. As she waters her plants a shadows comes over her. She turns around and looks towards the sun to find it blocked by a giant flying dragon, thought to have been non-existent.

Her eyes widen and she drops the watering can. She is unable to move due to the fear that overcomes her. Then she covers her ears at the sound of the thundering roar from the reptile as it flies closer. People in their homes wake up to the noise, and look outside to see what is going on.

Then a sudden burst of orange light shoots out of Siwang's mouth and houses erupt into flames. All the citizens panic and leave their houses, and dash towards the path leading up the side of the mountain that takes them to the city gate.

Siwang continues to shoot flames out of his mouth, a loud fiery crackling sound along with it. More homes are destroyed. He fires at the citizens as well, and in a flash, a family of pigs and another of geese are incinerated. Everyone else screams loudly as they make their wake up the mountain path.

Siwang then smashes a house with the end of his rock-hard tail. The roof of the house spins into the air towards the mountain path and crushes two more innocent lives. He sends another ferocious roar blaring in everyone's ear drums. He sends fire after them again, but it does not reach them. He continues to burn down houses and crush them with his powerful tail and limbs. He watches as the citizens leave the city.

It doesn't matter. He doesn't care if anyone else knows who he really is now. He has all of his power back and he can and will destroy everything, and nothing can stop him.

Not even the other Dragon Guardians can stop him now. He killed them, all of them, except for one. The one who was in charge. The one who is now old and sick. The elderly Royal Dragon himself.

Siwang remembers his days as a Dragon Guardian. He was different than the others. He kept wanting more and more. He was the one who had become corrupted completely by greed and an excessively massive lust for power. The power of death grew inside of him, changing his scale color, and making him kill his own friends. He became known as "Siwang, the Dragon of Death".

They tried to banish him. What a bunch of idiots! They would have been nothing without him, and now they are nothing because of him. And it will remain that way.

Siwang looks up at the temple. He knows that the masters are still up there, their quarters are up there. They all must die. He has no further need for them. If they escape, it does not matter. They will die anyway when he tears this planet apart.

But there is something else. Something else is up at that temple. He saw something being buried underneath the temple. He could never get to it, but now, with his power, he will finally get to it.

His wings starts flapping, lifting him into the air, and he heads towards the temple.

* * *

The masters are now gathered around the table. Some of them are running towards it right now.

"We still haven't found him, Master Kahn!" a mountain cat says, breathing heavily from exhaustion. "And the dragon is headed this way."

An elephant next to Kahn throws his hands up in frustration. "Great! That thing is coming to kill us, and Master Cho-Pa has gone missing! For all we know he could be held captive right now... or even killed."

"No," Kahn says turning to face the pachyderm, using his cane as support for his injured ankle from his fight with the snow leopard. "I don't think he is either. I think he might have something to do with this."

"What?!" The elephant looks offended. How could he possibly think that Cho-Pa was involved in this?

"With all of his obsessing over the Dragon Warrior, I knew something was up. The way he changed was just... odd, like he was involved with something he shouldn't be. The way he used his powers of his staff to stop criminals, it has dark powers. You guys can't possibly tell me that you haven't noticed it as well."

They all pause for a while. Then they all nod.

"Well, just never mind about it now! We have to leave now!"

As they are about to head to the door they feels the building shake.

Outside, Siwang's body is pressed against the building. Then he flies in reverse and flies one more time at the large dent in the stone wall. He smashes into it again and causes the place to shake again. Inside all of the masters fall to the ground as they feel the entire structure start to tilt. For a dragon who is not even that big, he is very strong.

Siwang roars and slams once more into the side and this time, almost the whole building falls down the mountain along with the masters. The mountain cat gets crushed by part of the temple walls.

All the others keep rolling down the hill, past the training hall and the barrack. They all roll closer to the cliff. Almost all of them fall all off the edge and down to the ground. Kahn, however, stops just before the edge, only his head hanging over.

The old master looks down in horror at the falling masters. Then he looks up to see the dragon just flying straight down at him. He screams in fear, closing his eyes and turning his head away, as the dragon lands just above him. Kahn opens his eyes and looks up at Siwang's evil grin.

Siwang chuckles. "Hello, Kahn. I told you the Dragon Warrior's power would be useful to me."

Kahn looks at him with no surprise. "Cho-Pa."

Siwang stares angrily at Kahn with his glowing white eyes. "No! That is not who I am! Not anymore! I'll show you who I truly am, Master Kahn."

Then he stands up on his hind legs and tries to flatten the liger. But the large cat rolls out of the way. Then he stands up and runs out from under the dragon before getting squashed again. Then as quick as lightning, he pulls his Golden Dagger out of its sheath. Then he points it at the dragon and a lightning bolt shoots out of the tip.

Before Siwang is able to recognize the problem, the bolt of lightning hits him in his chest armor. He shakes slightly as the electric energy course through him. It isn't a lot of voltage, but it singes the reptile. He growls at the liger, whose face shows nothing but confusion.

"Well, that didn't work as well as I hoped."

Siwang scowls at Kahn and charges towards him. Kahn tries to run, but then he gets hit in his side by the dragon's tail. Kahn goes flying off the edge of the cliff. Then Siwang is about to start flapping his wings. But then he hears a voice call out to him.

"Hey, stupid!"

He looks at the top of the path that leads up the cliff, and he sees Po standing there. Siwang can't help but wonder how he got here so fast, and why he's not even tired. "How did you...?"

"Oh, you just left some of your powers behind," Po says with a smirk. Siwang tries to figure out how, but then he just frowns at the panda.

He breathes fire, but the panda saves himself from the flames with some sort of shield made of energy from that little bit of Siwang's power in him. Then Siwang tries to crush the panda with his foot. But Po kicks the large foot and sends it flying a little to the side. Then Cho-Pa swings his tail at him too.

Po grabs the scaly tail and doesn't fly away, but instead he spins Siwang around once before throwing him off the cliff, and in the process, hangs onto the tail, intentionally bringing himself down with him.

* * *

Master Kahn is apparently not dead, and he is literally stuck in a tree. Hitting the mountain path a few times had slowed down his fall. Then his landing plan didn't exactly work out, and he managed to get himself wedged in between two large branches of a tree. He tries to get himself out, but he fails several times. Then his ears twitch and he looks up and then his eyes widen and he looks away with his eyes closed.

Po and the dragon land near the tree. Po is standing on the dragon's stomach, but he jumps off when Siwang tries to bite at him. Siwang tries to grab him, but Po grabs one of his toes and tosses the dragon into a building.

* * *

"How is she doing, Mr. Hun?"

Yao looks at Master Shifu with disappointment on his face. "Her pulse is getting weaker, Master Shifu. She doesn't have too much longer." He sees Tigress' eyes start to close. He gives her face a light tap. "Hey, try to stay awake." She opens her eyes wider. He notices the sadness within them.

Then he continues with the pressure on her wound. Viper is already in tears and slithers up to the panda. "Why is she still dying so quickly? I thought we would have had her bandaged by now."

"She's bleeding internally. That dagger went pretty deep." More than anything, he wishes to take back the words he said, but they are true. More tears spill from the snakes eyes even quicker than they already were.

The panda looks over at Shifu's face. Tears start to form in the master's eyes, and his ears droop. Yao looks down in sadness. If only he could help his son. This would go by a lot quicker. And Yen could at least see her one last time before... her time comes.

Then a feeling of determination fills him. He looks at Monkey. "You, Monkey, come here." Monkey walks over to him. "Could you please put pressure on that? I have to go and..." Then the labored breathing takes over as he stands up when Monkey obeys. "I have to... help my son."

He puts his hand on his chest as he clumsily starts to run through the forest, breathing heavily. But Shifu stops him. "No! You cannot leave, Mr. Hun."

"I... have to go... Master," Yao says as his breathing starts to ease up. He tries to move around Shifu, but the red panda turns him around.

"I cannot allow you to go. You are not in good health."

"I... I know." The panda lets out a long slow breath as he breathes normally. "But I need to. My son needs my help. He is the only one who can save the world. If he dies, Siwang will break the planet apart. I can't let that happen. I might be able to find a way to weaken him."

Shifu looks like he is considering this. Yao continues. "Please, Shifu, just trust me on this. I know exactly what I should do."

"How is Po supposed to stop Siwang?"

"You will find out soon enough. But you have to let me go."

The old master is still not sure about letting Yao leave the area. He is very sick and needs to be less active. How can Po save the planet? A dragon cannot be killed by anything but a dragon, so how is Po supposed to make this work? But if he is the only one to do so, then he should probably let his dad go to him.

Shifu looks up at the panda's face. He looks so sure of himself, almost as if he knows that Po will stop the Dragon of Death. Shifu looks down and nods. "Good luck."

The panda smiles and runs through the forest.


	20. Death Strikes

I do not own Kung Fu Panda.

* * *

**Dragon Heart**

**Secrets of the Dragon**

* * *

**Chapter 20**

**Death Strikes**

Po moves out of the way of Siwang's attacks.

The dragon tries to snap his jaws at him a couple of times. Po runs towards the houses, just as the inside of the dragon's mouth. He jumps behind a wall just before flames come after him.

Then Siwang creeps closer to the house Po hid inside. He is ready to attack again. But then he hears a voice behind him.

"Hey, stupid lizard!"

The dragon turns his head to see a panda behind him. But it is not just any panda.

It's Po.

Siwang just glares angrily at the confused panda. Po shrugs. "Please don't ask me how I got here."

Then Siwang snaps his jaws at him again, and Po runs away. The dragon catches up with him and Po feels pain inside him and he falls to the ground. He rolls onto his back and stares at the dragon. The dragon stares back and Po suddenly feels more pain inside his body.

Siwang puts a claws foot over Po, keeping him from escaping, letting his claws dig into the earth. Then the panda starts to feel weaker, as if the power he had was being drained from him again. Siwang's eyes glow even brighter as he gets his power back. Then soon he steps off of the panda and steps back.

"You thought you could keep my powers from me a second time?" He chuckles evilly. "You aren't so strong now, are you?" He hits the panda with his front foot and sends him flying. Po hits a house and falls on his face.

Siwang slowly walks closer to him. "I will make your death nice and slow, unless you want it all to end quickly." He gives an evil laugh.

Po struggles to stand up. "Siwang, please, you don't need to do this. Think about your son." He is up on his feet and continues. "If all this is because of what happened to him, then this isn't going to help you at all."

Siwang laughs louder. "Seriously? You think that I am taking his death so hard? Well, I've got news for you! No mere bandit killed them at all."

Siwang delivers a real shocker. "My son and his wife were murdered by me."

Po's face is covered with shock. "What?! Why?"

"For the obvious reason, they figured out who I was. I couldn't just let them tell everyone about me. I couldn't risk it. I had to do it."

Anger burns inside Po when he hears this. He sends Siwang a furious look. This guy is truly evil. What kind of sick man would kill his own family for any reason at all? It is just wrong.

Siwang hits Po again, and he flies into another house. He groans in pain and watches as the dragon flies in the air towards him. His mouth opens and starts to glow inside. But before he can do anything, there is another roar.

Another dragon crashes into Siwang. This dragon has yellow scales on its back and brown ones underneath. He looks similar to Siwang in almost every other way; square snout, teeth stick out, long neck, and spikes on the end of his tail. But his horns are thicker.

His eyes don't glow at all, and they are sort of yellow. His pupils look like vertical slits. His pupils however are very much like a cat's. They turn into slits when facing sunlight, and get rounder in darker areas. He has white whiskers hanging from his snout. He has scars all over him from the damage inflicted by Siwang the last time they fought.

His name is Banshui, the Royal Dragon Guardian, the first guardian of China. He has been around for thousands of years. He is very old and not in very good health. He is one of the six dragons that stayed in existence when the rest died. This is a story that will be told later.

After the shove, the evil dragon roars and scratches the yellow one in the face. A bit of blood flies in the air, but he is still determined to kill Siwang. But then he starts to looks sick as he lands and breathes heavily. He pays no attention to the blood dripping down the side of his face.

Siwang stays hovering in the air, looking down at Banshui as he chuckles. "So, you have returned. Haven't I already told you not to bother with me? Because you know very well that I will overpower you."

Still breathing heavily, Banshui manages to talk. "Yes... I know that. But... I will not... let you... kill more innocent lives." Banshui's breathing starts to steady. "I will defend him 'til my... last breath if I have to."

Siwang laughs in amusement. "I always love to see a stubborn old man prone to random illness continue struggling to stand up against his foes. Well, you are ill and weak. You cannot fight me. You cannot win. You should have just let yourself die along with the rest of the Guardians."

"But look, here I am now, alive and unbroken, and perfectly able to kill you."

Siwang laughs again. "Really? You? You don't stand a chance! You would be turned to ash within the next minute."

Banshui gives Siwang a sinister smile. "We shall see."

Then flames shoot out of his mouth, using the evil dragon's face shielding to his advantage. He flies at Siwang, crashing into his stomach and nearly making him fall. But Siwang stays up and strikes back. He clamps his jaws onto the back of Banshui's lower neck. Then Banshui grabs him with his four limbs and throws him off. The evil Dragon crashes into a house.

The yellow dragon then fires a big ball of fire towards Siwang, but he takes off into the air. Then the fireball hits the house and creates a large explosion, and the house is blown to bits.

Then Siwang is flying at him really fast, and he slams the yellow dragon into the ground. Banshui swings his claws at Siwang's face. Then he hits him in the head with his own. They both start flying in the air again. Siwang shoots fireballs at Banshui, but the old dragon catches one in his front legs and throws it back. The fireball hits Siwang, leaving quite a burn on his face, and his scales are now blackened.

He moves forward and smacks the yellow dragon with his tail. The old and tired reptile is thrown off balance. Then a house falls from above him as it had come from the area behind him. It is almost like magic how Siwang got behind him that quickly. The house crushes the Royal Dragon. Po looks at the dragon worried.

But the old creature lifts it off and stands up again, covered in cuts and scratches. His wings are ripped, and he is in intense pain, but he still struggles to fight back. But his heart acts up, making him unable to as Siwang soars at him with his mouth wide open, coming in for the kill.

Banshui feels Siwang's jaws clamp even tighter around his neck than before and is knocked to the ground. Siwant holds the top of his neck, right behind the head. Banshui is too weak to defend himself. He tries to breathe, but he isn't getting any air. Siwang's jaws are locked around his neck and cannot be forced open.

He swings the old yellow dragon around, hitting him against a house on his left, causing excruciating pain to Banshui's long neck. Then Siwangs hits him against the house on the right. Then he flies up into the air, effortlessly lifting Banshui with him, who is about to pass out from lack of air.

Siwang speeds down towards the tall obelisk. He slams the yellow reptile into the ground in front of it. Banshui gasps for air and coughs. There is a lot of blood leaking out of his neck. Siwang flies to the other side of the obelisk and smashes into it, making it crack in the middle. Then he hits it again and the whole top half of it falls towards him.

Banshui looks up, widening his eyes, unable to scream. Then he squeezes his eyes shut as the obelisk chunk finally lands on him. Then to make it more painful, Siwang adds in a fireball that explodes, blowing the huge chunk in all directions.

Banshui is buried under bits of rock. He struggles to get out. When he finally gets the rocks off of him, he slowly limps forward with extreme pain. Then he stops. The pain is too much for him to walk any further. Blood is dripping onto the ground in larger amounts from his back, his neck, his tail, and not to mention his head. But there is a large gash in his side that is worse than the rest.

Siwang flies around in a taunting manner, laughing mockingly. He tries to blow flames at the evil dragon, but it only comes out in one tiny "poof".

"Ha! You are an old fool." Siwang flies in one spot in front of Banshui. He sees the old dragon's legs quaking. "Are you still trying to win against me, to kill me, to put me out of this world?" He gives an evil grin. "Don't be stupid."

Banshui's legs are too weak to hold him up, and he falls on his stomach, sending more pain surging through him. He groans and coughs. His breathing is labored, but not because of his heart this time.

"You knew this would happen, but you were just too stubborn to give up, to give me what I rightfully deserved. You were too stupid to see what I was becoming, how strong I grew, and you didn't even consider it."

Banshui has a hard time talking. "You... you..."

Siwang becomes furious. "What?! I was what, too aggressive, too irresponsible? You thought I would abuse its power?"

Banshui nods, looking up at him. His voice is weak. "Yes."

As an act of anger, Siwang whips him across the face with his tail, one of the spikes leaving a bloody scratch. Po winces when he sees the hit. He is hiding behind a partially intact house.

Siwang moves his face closer to the older dragon's and talks in a threatening voice. "Now see here, you pathetic old worm, I am more powerful than you, which means that I do deserve that power. Now why won't you give it to me?" He grabs Banshui by the throat with his forelegs, balancing on his hind ones. The old dragon coughs.

Banshui answers hoarsely. "Because—" A cough escapes his throat. The pain causes tears to come to his eyes. "Because it is not meant for you."

Siwang throws the yellow dragon's head to the ground. Then he yells in anger. "Will you shut up?! It should have been for me! It belongs to me! That is what I worked my whole life for! You just—" He sighs.

"You know what, forget it. I don't need it, and I don't need you." Then he looks at Po, who hides immediately. "And I no longer need to finish off either of you. Now, I have some business to finish up here." Then his wings start flapping and he heads towards where the temple used to be.

Po looks at the badly injured dragon from behind the building. He fills with sadness and sorrow when he sees the deadly wounds on Banshui's scaly body. Judging by the wounds that had been brought to him, Po knows one thing.

The old dragon is dying.

* * *

Wow. I have never written a fight scene like that. But how will Po defeat Siwang? It all seems hopeless to him. Maybe his rescuer can help.

Banshui = Royalty (But on Google Translate, you have to put a capital "R" or it will say something else)

Po's dad is taking quite a while to get there. If he is planning something against the Dragon of Death, he had better pick up the pace.


	21. The Power Of The Orbs

Oops, my bad. Po's dad is not going to get there at all. If you want to know why, keep reading. And a new secret will be revealed to Po about himself. It's gonna be AWESOME!

Also, I have been suffering from stupid writer's block. GRRR! But I managed to do it eventually. It took a couple of days.

I don't own Kung Fu Panda... DUH! You think? How could I possibly own Kung Fu Panda?!

* * *

**Dragon Heart**

**Secrets of the Dragons**

* * *

**Chapter 21**

**The Power Of The Orbs**

Po steps closer to the injured reptile.

Banshui's breathing gets louder as the panda gets closer to the old dragon that saved him. The dragon watches with one tired eye as he inches closer. The physical wounds covering the dragon inflict emotional wounds to Po. He stops walking a few meters from the dragon's large head. His head could fill up an entire tent.

The dragon looks Po in the eye. His voice comes out in a weak whisper. "Yen." Then he coughs, causing his neck more pain. "Yen, I'm... I'm sorry."

Po looks a little surprised that Banshui knows his name, but then he just gives the dragon a sad look. "For what?"

"I-I thought that I was strong enough. I was sure I could beat him. But I have failed again."

Po smiles sadly. "Hey, you did what you could, right?"

"I was only trying to protect you. I couldn't stand the thought of losing you again. You are all the family I have."

Po's looks at the dragon completely shocked. "What?" Then he realizes who the dragon is. "Dad?"

Banshui can't lift his head off the ground to nod. His eyes just shift away and look at the ground. "Yes. I have wanted to tell you this for sometime now. I think it's time I told you the truth."

Po is not so sure that Banshui will have enough time. But dragons can lose more blood than any other animal and still be alive for a while.

* * *

Siwang reaches the top of the cliff, and lands close to the edge. He walks towards what is left of the temple, which is some of the main floor. As he walks, he keeps his neck stretched out horizontally. Actually, all dragons do this, in order to stay balanced and keep walking in the direction they want to go. It is also handy for checking around corners. Their necks are only stretched up if they want a better look at their surroundings.

Siwang runs at the main door and hits it with his head. The doors come off of their hinges. He enters the temple with his wings tucked in so he can fit through the door. He looks around. He moves to the center of the main hall. He looks down at the ground and stomps on the ground. It sounds hollow.

He smiles and starts swinging his forelimbs down on the ground, leaving many cracks.

* * *

Then Banshui begins his story. "Listen, my name is not Hun Yao. I am really Banshui, the... the Royal Dragon, the leader of the Dragon Guardians." He sees Po's eyes widen. "I had fought with Siwang hundreds of years ago. He killed all of the other Guardians, and I was the only survivor."

He sighs. "I knew I couldn't defeat him again, so I went into hiding. As you know, I hid as a panda named Hun Yao. But he wouldn't give up. He was so hell-bent on getting the Orb's power that he had destroyed many villages, not just ours."

"Wait. What orb? What power?"

Banshui groans in pain and then looks back at his son. "The Dragon Orb. It contains the ultimate dragon power. I have kept it safe for thousands of years. Siwang has been after it since he learned of its power, but I refused to give it to him."

"Why? Who is the Orb for?"

Banshui smiles weakly. "You know Siwang's staff, and my dragon pin? Items like those were made for the Dragon Guardians. They stored their power within them. But the power I stored in the Orb was meant for one dragon... Wangzi, the Dragon Prince."

Po looks interested. "The Dragon Prince?" he whispers to himself.

"The Dragon Prince is the only one who will be able to harness the power of the Dragon Orb, making him more powerful than any other dragon. And he would be the only one to destroy the Dragon of Death. Son, you should know that Yen isn't your real name, and neither is Po."

The panda had already figured those weren't his real names. He starts to suspect what the old dragon is about to say.

"Your true name... is Wangzi. You are the Dragon Prince. You are the only one who can defeat Siwang."

Po looks at his father with disbelief. "How? I'm not a dragon. I don't have powers like you."

"No, not yet. But you will, and your powers will be greater then mine."

* * *

Siwang smashes more of the ground until the hole is large enough that he could squeeze through it. He enters the area under the floor. He looks around for something.

* * *

With his head still down, Banshui's eyes look up towards the sky, and Po does the same. Then a bright light shines from one spot in the air. It's not in the sky. It is actually a few meters above them. The light gets brighter and brighter, but starts to dim, forming just a ball of light. It slowly floats down in front of Po. The panda looks at the ball of light confused.

"Wangzi, this is the Dragon Orb. When you take it, you will earn your dragon power."

Po looks astonished. "Wait, how will I know how to use my power?"

Banshui coughs and groans. "You will know."

* * *

Siwang walks down a tunnel, and as he nears the end, he can hear the crackling of electricity.

He looks at a dark orb, glowing in a mixture of black and purple. The white dragon steps closer, with an evil smile on his face. He stands right in front of it. The dark light from the orb seems to show on his face.

* * *

Then Po and his dad hear a loud roar from the direction of the temple. Po looks towards it, and Banshui struggles to turn his body part way, to avoid worse pain from turning his neck too far. He looks at the cliff Siwang went to and suddenly, the white dragon flies up into the air with large chunks of the temple literally following him into the air.

Siwang lets out an evil laugh as he spins around while flying straight up. Then he stops in the air and hovers in one place. His wings stop flapping as he spreads them out, keeping himself in the air, and wind starts to blow throughout the city. The objects that had followed him into the air are now flying in circles around him. A dark cloud starts to form above the city, and it gets bigger.

Banshui manages to stand on his wobbly legs, and look up at the cloud. He ignores the pain he feels, and his eyes widen in utter shock. "No!" he whispers.

Po looks at him confused. "What's going on?!" He covers his face from the strong wind.

The old dragon looks at his son. He groans painfully. "Wangzi, you must take the Orb!"

"What? What is it, dad?!"

"He has found the Shadow Orb!"

"What?!" Po is surprised. He never heard of this before.

"The evil orb that creates destruction! He will use it to tear the planet apart. This is what I was trying to prevent!"

"I never heard about this 'Shadow Orb' before!"

"I stored the worst of his powers away in that orb and I hid it. Oogway assured me it was safe. But now..." He sighs.

Po looks terrified as he looks at Banshui. The old dragon can still hardly stay on his feet, and blood is still pouring out of his wounds. He tries to walk to his son, but the pain returns and he falls onto his stomach again.

"Wangzi, take the Dragon Orb! Use its power against him!" He knocks a tree branch out of the air with his damaged wing.

"I don't know if I can!"

The ground starts to break and split apart, and even float up into the air. Trees in the forest are being lifted up, the roots being yanked straight out of the ground.

Master Shifu and the other warriors are still standing against the wind. Tigress' eyes are open slightly as she looks around at what's going on. Monkey is covering her wound to keep dirt and all that from getting in. Many trees around them are being pulled out of the ground, and they can see Po and the injured Royal Dragon in the distance. But they do not yet know who he is.

But they will see who Po is.

The Royal Dragon glares at his son. "Son, take the Orb _now_!" He coughs.

Po still looks completely terrified. "Well, I've never had to deal with anything like this before!" He points at the evil dragon. "I don't know what to do!"

"You will know when you take it! Trust me!"

"How do you know I will even make it back alive?!"

Banshui is about to say something, but he can't. He is not sure if his son will survive. But he has to try; otherwise Siwang will destroy everything anyway. Then he gives Po a reassuring smile.

"You will, my son. You just need to have courage. You have the strength to do this. You have to. I cannot fight him anymore. I'm afraid you are on your own, but I believe you can do this. Please, just have courage."

Po stares at his dad, still scared, but he nods. "Okay, Dad."

"Take the Dragon Orb, Wangzi, and use the power you were born to use. Remember, my son, remember who you are." He gives a confident smile.

"You are the Dragon Prince."

* * *

Wow, that is pretty awesome, huh? Po is the Dragon Prince. He has finally found out who he truly is. Now, he has to take the Dragon Orb and become the dragon who was to defeat the ultimate evil. I will tell more stories about Siwang in my next story.

Wangzi = Prince


	22. The Release Of The Dragon Prince

Here comes the awesome part. You know, I wanted to use Wangzi as my avatar, But I suck at drawing, at least from _my _imagination. I can copy other images, and they look pretty good. But when I draw from my own mind, they always end up looking like poo, and I can't even draw a piece of poo. I even try starting out with basic shapes and lines, but even THEY don't turn out good either. I am seriously a sucky drawer.

I do not own Kung Fu Panda.

* * *

**Dragon Heart**

**Secrets of the Dragons**

* * *

**Chapter 22**

**The Release Of The Dragon Prince**

Po looks at the Dragon Orb.

He is still not sure how he will be able to defeat Siwang, but he walks towards the glowing ball of light. Even with all this wind, it has managed to stay floating in the same spot. He holds his hand out towards it.

As his hand gets closer to the Orb, it seems to move a little closer to him, as if it knew that he was the one to use it. It's like he was meant to take it, like he is meant to save China with the powers of this one tiny ball of light. But of course the Orb does know all of this about Po. He is the Dragon Prince and he is the only one who can defeat Siwang.

The panda get a little more nervous as he inches closer. Then he finally touches it with his hand, and he feels a light tickle. His paw closes around the Orb, and light streams from between his fingers. Banshui watches in amazement. Even Master Shifu and the Furious Five, including Tigress, see the glow.

Po's entire body becomes like on giant light bulb as he feels energy from the Orb. He glows brighter than even the sun. Siwang, Shifu, and the Five have to close or cover their eyes. Tigress just turns her head away. When the brightness dies down, she opens her eyes and turns her head to look back at where Po is. As the light continues to die down, the form of a dragon can be seen.

Tigress' eyes widen, and a small smile grows on her face. The dragon in the distance comes as the most beautiful thing she had ever seen. But she is still confused. Po is a dragon? How? Why? Who is that other dragon?

She is in too much pain to think of answers.

Po is very different from Siwang and Banshui. He has bright yellow scales on his back and limbs. His underside scales are also yellow, but almost white. His tail is long and pointed at the end, with no spikes on it at all. His neck however, is not very long at all, but it still holds his head above his body. His wings are quiet large for his size. He is smaller than the other dragons, but in this case, size doesn't matter. His four legs are very strong and muscular

His head is where he really differs from the other two. His whole head is not as big as the other two dragons'. He has two bone-colored horns coming from the top of his head and pointing back, curving slightly downward. His snout is narrower and looks like a beak. There are no teeth showing when his mouth is closed. Unlike his dad, his teeth are almost perfectly aligned. He only has about 120 small teeth. He has no fangs, but instead the tips of his snout curve, sort of like a bird's beak. He has absolutely no whiskers on his face.

Po's eyes are like Banshui's eyes. They act like a cat's eyes. And much like his dad and Siwang, his eyes are on the sides of his head. He has no additional horns on any part of his body.

He looks all around to see what he looks like, and then he talks in a deep voice.

"Whoa." Then he smiles. "Awesome."

"Wangzi, you must go now." Banshui coughs again. "You need to destroy him. Make no attempt to make peace with him. Once a dragon is bent on destroying the planet, they carry out that plan, and they will never stop."

Po nods. He never liked to kill anyone. He did intend to kill Tai Lung, but that was to save the valley from whatever he would have done. This is a much worse situation, and if he has to kill Siwang, he will do it. But why not try and end all of this peacefully? Maybe he could try it this time again.

But maybe he would fail again like he did the other two times. When he thinks about it now, he cannot afford to fail, especially when the whole world is at stake. If he has to kill the dragon, he will do it, if it is the only way.

Then suddenly a part of a building hit Banshui, knocking him back and crushing him once more. His head drops and he is unconscious, hopefully not dead.

"Dad!" Po yells. He looks up at Siwang as the white dragon seems to be holding another chunk of a building without even touching it. The evil dragon throws it at Po, but he moves out of the way. He looks at his dad again, tears ready to burst, but he pulls himself together and glares angrily at Siwang.

He flies into the air at a very fast speed towards the dragon. As angry as Po is at Siwang, revenge hasn't even crossed his mind. He isn't that kind of warrior, but he will kill the evil dragon to stop him from destroying the world. He roars at the evil dragon. Siwang throws another large piece of a building at him, but Po's wings push him faster and he tilts his head down so he is looking at the ground. Then the top of his head crashes through the chunk, smashing it into a hundred pieces.

Siwang starts to fill with worry as Po gets closer. He thought fulfilling his plan would be a cinch, but the Dragon Prince is going to be a real problem. This will be a lot harder than he originally thought.

Before he can act, Po flies right into him, his head knocking him in the gut. Then all of the floating objects around them fall down to the ground. Siwang snarls and kicks him away. Then he flips himself forward, smacking Po hard in the face with his tail. The spikes didn't hit him, but it did in fact hurt quite a bit. But honestly, that hit would have flattened him like a piece of parchment, were he still a panda.

Then the evil dragon tries to swing a claw at him, but Po blocks it with his foreleg and head butts Siwang. The white dragon is knocked back, feeling a little dizzy. He had never felt a hit that hard from any of the other dragons he fought without them feeling dizzy as well. But Po didn't even look in pain. His scales must be much harder than the others'.

But it doesn't matter. He killed the other Dragon Guardians without even trying. He will do the same with the Dragon Prince.

Po opens his mouth and flames burst out and head towards the evil dragon. Siwang yells in pain as the heat rushes into him while moving out of the way. Then suddenly Po grabs the white dragon by the neck and throws him down towards the ground. Siwang lands near where the temple was.

Po shoots down towards him. Then Siwang sees the yellow dragon coming at him at an inanely fast speed. But he manages to move fast enough to roll himself over, just before Po slams into the ground. Air rushes in all directions from the impact. Even the Furious Five could have felt that rush.

Siwang finds himself clinging to the edge of the cliff. The claws on his wings are holding onto the top of the cliff. He watches as the dust disappears and Po is seen with an angry scowl. He snarls and he attack Siwang. They both fall down to the ground, as Po snaps his skinny jaws at him. Then he tries to kick him with his hind legs, but instead he ends up scratching Siwang's wing. He yells in pain.

Siwang pushes himself off of Po and spits out a fireball at him. Po swoops under it and he grabs Siwang, flips upside-down and spins as they head straight for the ground. Po has his wings wrapped tightly around him so he cannot escape. Then they both hit the ground, creating a huge explosion of dirt.

The dust and dirt disappear, and Siwang can be seen grunting in pain as he walks towards Po, his head now bleeding. His facial expression shows pain, anger, and a little bit of exhaustion. He limps towards him and snarls.

Po isn't in a defensive or attacking stance. He just stands there, neck straight up, and a look of sympathy on his scaly face.

Siwang growls at his expression. The last thing he wants is for someone to feel sorry for him.

There is nothing to be sorry for.

Po remembers when he thought that he should not bother trying to reason with him. But when he sees Siwang in this state, he just cannot help but give it a try anyway.

"Siwang, you don't have to do this."

"Yes, I do!" Siwang snarls back. "This is who I am!"

"Why are you even doing this? What's the point?"

The white dragon winces and gets angry at the fact that the yellow dragon is not fighting him. But he answers anyway. "Did your father not tell you? I have trained and worked extremely hard to earn that Dragon Orb. But he refused and instead gave it to _you_." He growls. "Do you not understand what that has done to me?!"

Po's voice shows concern, "Yeah, it's turning you into your grandson, exactly like him. If you don't stop this, this might just end the same way." He says this as if he regrets even thinking about doing that.

The short conversation ends as Siwang's rage just explodes. "No! You will die!" Then he jumps at Po, and grabs his neck, cutting off his air, and he locks his jaws in place. Po cannot break free from his grasp. He continues to struggle, but to no avail. He almost gives up until he hears those words again.

Then suddenly, the words of his dad echo in his head, saying that he will know what to do with his dragon power.

At this point he knows exactly what to do.

Then air suddenly explodes from him, causing the white dragon to fly back. Siwang smashes into the side of the cliff, groaning in pain. He looks up at Po, easily noticing the blood from his own bite marks slowly dripping the yellow dragon's neck.

Siwang is surprised and confused that he doesn't look the slightest bit in pain. He's not even gasping for air. Why? All he can see in Po's face is anger.

Siwang starts to worry. He feels a little overpowered. How is he supposed to defeat a dragon like this? There must be some way, a better way.

A weakness.

But he needs a place to think. He takes off into the air, hoping to get away from Po. But the other dragon gains quicker speed almost immediately. He grabs the white dragon's tail and his wings stop flapping, meaning to drag him down. But Siwang just keeps flying, trying to get him off.

If only dragons were like other lizards. He could just drop his tail right off his butt, sending this pest along with it. He swings his tail, and Po lets go, intentionally, for he had something else to finish him with. Then his eyes brighten up until pupils are no longer visible. Then he opens his mouth and a large beam of light shoots out and hits Siwang. There is barely any sound as he does this.

Siwang is shocked once again at this act by the Dragon Prince. He tries to get away, but the light seems to be holding him in place. Then he feels energy slowly draining from him. He feels weaker, like the other dragon is possibly draining his life force from his body. He thinks of a way to stop it. But there is only one way.

Then he begins to use some kind of power to save his own life. This causes him to glow into a dragon light bulb. He gets brighter and brighter, until he releases the full power of life, and yet another huge explosion of light appears. This has been happening quite a bit lately.

Everything is now a giant white light.

* * *

What happened, do you think? Did one of them die, both of them die, or are they both still alive? Go on, take a guess. I DARE you.

I have no idea what a person would see while they are being strangled, so I couldn't put that in there. I wanted to have Po experience that, but I couldn't.


	23. A Spirit Within

I don't own Kung Fu Panda.

* * *

**Dragon Heart**

**Secrets of the Dragon**

* * *

**Chapter 23**

**A Spirit Within**

Po wakes up and slowly opens his eyes.

Did he win? Did he defeat Siwang?

He finds himself lying on the ground. He lifts his head, heavy from exhaustion and looks around, but he is unable to see Siwang anywhere on the ground with him. Then he searches the sky, and finally spots the white dragon flying away from the city.

How did he survive? Po used a lot of his energy against him. That should have killed him. So why didn't it?

Po tries to stand up, but he feels weak. He almost falls back down, but he manages to hold himself up.

"Leave him."

Po turns around towards the voice, but he sees nothing. He continues to spin around. But he still can't see anyone around except his dad, but he is unconscious. Actually, he was, but now his eyes are slightly open. But where is the voice coming from?

"He is weakened, and needs to recover."

Po looks around again, on the ground, in the sky, everywhere.

The voice inside Po's head sounds irritated. "You can stop looking for me, you can't see me."

"Oh," Po says.

"Listen, I know you are confused, and I will explain what happened. I am Shenghuo, the Dragon—no, the _spirit _of the Dragon Guardian of Life. I used to provide life to many who deserve it; I brought new life to the world, and so on. When Siwang killed me and all of the guardians, he absorbed my spirit, therefore, taking my powers, and using them."

"For what? I mean, he is the Dragon of Death, right? What would he want with that?"

"He wasn't just the Dragon of Death, he was once a guardian. A scroll will be sent to you, explaining our story. Now to answer your other question, he used my power for himself only. When he was injured, he would heal himself. He used that power against you as you used you're your own energy.

"Using healing powers on yourself while losing your life force at such a pace as he did, is a very dangerous combination. Luckily, I managed to escape before it got too dangerous."

"So that light just now... That was you escaping?"

"Yes. If I didn't, you would both have gotten killed, taking China along with you. I left, leaving him weak and you weaker, but both of you are alive. I will provide you with what strength I can spare, and I will heal your wounds, but then I must go. I will ascend with the other dragons and watch over China from there.

"And right now, you must recover yourself, and continue your search for Siwang. You are the only one who can stop him. It was told in the legends, the one your father wrote. Go to him now, he needs to see you one last time. Good luck, Wangzi."

Po waits for a while, just in case there is anything more to say. But there is only silence. He stands up and awkwardly walks towards his dad, his neck straight forward. He does this just by instinct, and not really realizing it.

His wings then open only to be lowered and dragged on the ground. This is how dragons express sadness or hopelessness. He cautiously approaches the old dragon crushed under a large chunk of building.

"Dad?"

He hears Banshui give a weak chuckle. His voice is quiet and the words come out slowly. His heavy eyelids stay open slightly. "You know, I thought you would never call me that, that it would feel weird for you, after being raised by someone else."

Po's eyes well up with tears. "Well, you are my real dad, right?"

The old dragon, unable to move anything at all, just smiles. "No. Your father is the one who raised you, took care of you, who taught you what you know. I couldn't do that. I longed to see you again, but I thought you were dead. I am so glad to have finally found you, after all these years."

"Yeah, well, same here." Po barely notices the tears pouring down his cheeks.

Banshui looks at his son. "I would have loved to meet the man who adopted you."

Po's voice shakes. "You... you would have loved him."

Banshui moves his head slightly and painfully in a "come here" gesture. Po slowly walks closer to him. He starts to cry more. His head stops right in front of his dad's.

"Closer," Banshui says in a weak whisper. Po moves closer, and his father uses the last of his strength to lift his head and nuzzle against Po's chin. Po squeezes his eyes shut as his tears form rivers, and pour down onto Banshui's head and face. He doesn't mind, and he continues to embrace him.

"I love you, Son."

This causes Po to sob louder. "I-I love you too, Dad."

After another moment, they separate. Banshui's voice is heartbreakingly weak. "My time is up, Wangzi. I must ascend to the Dragon Guardians. But remember this, we are never truly gone. You can see our work being done all around you. You... you just have to pay attention. Good luck."

Po nods. Then his father lays his head down and drifts off into the comfort of death. Po watches as Banshui's body becomes motionless, still helplessly crushed under the large piece of debris.

Po begins to feel worried. His dad could have helped him through a lot. How can Po stop Siwang? This is the scariest thing he ever had to face in his life. He is terrified of Siwang and his power. He could end the world just like that. How can Po stop that? What if he isn't strong enough?

Then Po notices a light glowing from his dad. Po backs away. What is happening now? Then his dad's head disappears as it turns into a bunch of swirling floating sparkling lights, like some sort of strange but beautiful fireflies. Then the old man's neck disappears, and further down. Soon the debris falls to the ground as Po's dad turns into a million sparkling flakes.

Then the lights fly around Po in a circle. He looks around, confused. They seem to be revolving faster and faster around him until they look like one large ring of light. Then they get brighter, making Po cover his eyes. Then they quickly close in on him, until they enter his body.

Po looks around for the lights. Then he examines his own body, his chest, his sides, wherever the ring of light had surrounded. He is unsure of what had just happened.

But he feels different now. He has this feeling of happiness and comfort and power all of a sudden. And his dad... he can almost feel his presence right there in front of him. Po smiles, realizing his dad had sent all of his power and strength into his son, every bit he had. Then Po hears this voice in his head, a soft and smooth voice, sounding like that of his father, echoing in his brain.

"You are not alone."

Po starts feeling all warm inside, like this is the most comfort he had ever felt. He looks towards where the Furious Five are, still standing where the forest used to be. Then the positive feelings disappear, and are replaced with fear. Po runs towards them on all fours as he finally remembers one more thing.

Tigress!

* * *

Wow, I already love this chapter. I love the whole father/son moment. I seriously love this story now. It's like I transformed it into something completely different. I am beyond glad that I decided to rewrite this story.

Shenghuo = Life

Anyway, tell me what you think and keep reading... when I update. There are just a couple more chapters left.


	24. Life After Death

Sorry it took a while. I was doing some drawings.

If you want to see my full drawing of Wangzi, with part of his wings gone due to paper space, then go to my profile and click on the link, since most of it disappears when I put it on here.

WARNING: My drawing has no feet, because I am not good at drawing feel. But I like the rest of the dragon.

I do not own Kung Fu Panda.

* * *

**Dragon Heart**

**Secrets of the Dragons**

* * *

**Chapter 24**

**Life After Death**

"Tigress!"

Po finally reaches Shifu and the Five. They don't look at all surprised at is dragon form, since they already saw him go from panda to dragon. Po looks at all of their faces. Their eyes are full of tears.

Shifu stares down at the ground, not wanting Po or anyone to see his tears. Viper is crying over Monkey's shoulder, since he was the closest one to her. Mantis, Crane, and Monkey just stare up at Po with eyes full of sorrow.

"No."

No, she can't be dead. Not now. Po has so many things to tell her, about his dad, himself, Siwang. Now he has no chance of doing that.

"No, she—"

Po feels a huge wave of grief hit him. He knows that they are right. He is too late. He stares at Tigress' motionless body with tears filling his eyes. He slowly walks towards her. The others move aside so he can continue. A waterfall of tears runs down his face as he brings his head close to her. His head is about the same size as Tigress herself.

Po lets out a series of sobs as he lies down next to her. The other masters leave Po alone with the dead tiger. Po curls himself around Tigress, with his head right next to her and continues to sob.

He shuts his eyes tightly as he remembers everything they had been through together. He remembers the sparring, the missions, the talks they had. If either Po or Tigress was having a problem, they would often tell each other.

Tigress liked talking with Po whenever she has problems because he doesn't joke around about them, he doesn't tell anyone, and he knows how to make her feel better. It's the same with Tigress about Po's problems.

But now she's gone. What would he do? The others wouldn't understand. But now, Po has a new set of problems. He misses all the time he had spent with her. He loved every moment, every second, of their friendship.

But Po eventually had begun to feel something stronger, some growing emotion inside him that he wanted to reveal to Tigress since he saw her floating on that piece of debris in the harbor of Gongmen. He had wanted to tell her, but he just couldn't. The words would not come out, even though he thought it might be the last time he would say anything to her. He could have said it right there.

He could have told her that he loved her.

But instead he pushed her out of firing range and left to face up to Shen's ships alone, without a plan.

Po's thoughts are interrupted by something warm and soft touching his cheek, wiping the tears away. His eyes shoot open and his sobbing lessens. He looks at the tiger as she lowers her arm and smiles at him. Po lifts his head as his eyes widen.

She's alive? But how? She was clearly dead.

He looks at her wound. Where is it? All he can see through that hole in her vest is fur covered in blood, but no wound.

Tigress looks into the dragon's eyes, slightly nervous. How can she explain this to him without this sounding too weird for him?

"How...?" Po says, and his mouth just hangs open like he is trying to say more, but he can't. Tigress chuckles lightly, and Po manages to get the rest of the question out. "How are you alive? Are you a ghost? Or am I just seeing things?"

Tigress smiles as she shakes her head. "Neither, Po. This might be hard to understand, but I was brought back by Shenghuo."

"The Dragon of Life," Po says, receiving a surprised look from Tigress. Apparently, Po does understand.

"Well, yes. He told me what you did, how you defeated Siwang and freed Shenghuo's spirit." She pauses and she looks into the dragon's teary eyes. "Then he healed me, saying that my time was not yet up. He said I should come back and help you."

Po is unable to say anything. He just stares at her as she stands up. She nearly stumbles when she straightens up, but she regains her balance. She looks back into Po's eyes, which seems to comfort him.

"And he wanted me to thank you for saving him."

Po remembers Shenghuo never thanking him for what he did. Po smiles down at Tigress. She returns the smile as she says, "And... thank you for saving me, and for... not leaving."

Po smiles even wider as he lowers his head towards her. "No prob." He lightly bumps her in the chest with his snout, knocking her back a little bit. He chuckles, and Tigress just smiles, placing her hands on her hips while shaking her head. Po stops laughing and looks back into her orange eyes, hope to find the answer there to the question he wants to ask.

"Um, Tigress?" he asks, pushing himself in a sitting position with his forelegs.

"Yeah, Po?"

Po is about to say something, but nothing comes out. Why can't he just say it? Why must it be so hard to tell someone how you really feel about them? But he knows why.

What if she doesn't feel the same for him? She probably doesn't. What about her reaction if he told her? It would probably be negative. She never loved anyone before, so why should she now? If he asks now it could cause some major problems between them.

Maybe if he were to wait a while longer, maybe she might even tell him. But Po doesn't want to get his hopes up. But maybe it will. He decides not to tell her. He will just have to be patient. He just smiles at the feline.

"Never mind, Tigress. It's no big deal." He hopes that she will believe him. She looks back at him with confusion and concern, which makes Po a little nervous.

Po looks towards Shifu and the other masters. They are hidden behind the leftover trees. "Master Shifu! Guys, come here!" They all slowly and disappointedly walk out from behind the trees. But then their eyes widen in shock at the sight of Tigress alive and on her feet. Tigress smiles at them.

Tigress is suddenly shocked when Viper comes flying at her and wrapping herself around the tiger in a hug. Tigress is unable to get free, and doesn't really bother to try at all. Then Monkey and Mantis head over to embrace her as well. As awkward as she feels, she hugs her friends back. Crane doesn't hug her. He just simply walks up to her and pats her on the back with his wing. Shifu doesn't hug her either, but he just smiles and bows. Tigress does the same when she is released from all the hugs.

"How are you alive?" Viper asks. "You were just dead."

"Yeah, well, I was brought back, thanks to Po." Tigress looks at Po and smiles. Po returns the smile and looks at everyone's confused faces.

Mantis raises a claw-thing as he speaks. "So, uh, what's with... this?" He gestures to the dragon.

Po smiles. "I'll tell you later. Right now, we need to worry about finding Siwang and ending all of this."

"How?" Crane asks.

Po shrugs, humming an "I don't know" before looking at the ground in thought. "I don't know where he has gone, but he needs to recover his strength. It could take a long time to find him, and who knows how long it will take for him to recover." The dragon has a little bit of a sad look on his face.

Everyone else starts to look the same way. Finding Siwang will be a very difficult task. It could take months or even years to find him. If he fully restores his power and strength before they do, the white dragon will destroy everything.

Even Master Shifu starts to feel a bit of hopelessness. "So what is your plan, Po?"

Po is surprised that Shifu is even asking him a question like that. _Him_. He had not asked Po's opinion on anything like this before. But then again, Po knows more about Siwang than anyone else here. Plus, when his dad's spirit was absorbed into Po, he had gained more knowledge about the evil dragon. Po knows everything that his dad could figure out.

The dragon looks at the old master. "When we get back to the Jade Palace, I will start my search. I'll start in the direction where he took off, maybe ask around. Someone ought to know something about him... hopefully. You can stay at the palace and tend to... whatever needs tending to."

Tigress scoffs and walks towards Po. "Hang on a second, Po, so you're just going to go on your little field trip alone and leave us at home?" She stops in front of him, arms crossed, a smirk on her striped face as she looks up at the dragon. "Not a chance."

Po had expected to face this determination and stubbornness of hers. Wherever one warrior went, she wanted to go with them, dragging everyone else along in the process. She had spent years watching over the others, and she isn't going to stop now. But this time is different. She can't help him this time. This is something he must take care of alone.

"I'm sorry, Tigress, but you can't come along. You know as well as anyone else here that I am the only one who can fight Siwang."

"Did I say anything about the rest of us fighting him?" Po looks at her, not really expecting to hear this from her. "I meant that I think we should search with you. You know how you are; you can't do this without us."

Po widens his eyes. "Seriously? Come on. Really, Tigress, I am not the same guy I used to be." Then he looks down at his scaly body. "Well, now I'm _definitely _not the same guy I used to be." He chuckles lightly. "But honestly, have you not noticed that I have taken my job a little more seriously lately?"

Tigress gives him a weird look. "You rode a wok down the stairs just a few days ago."

Po looks irritated. "Hey, I said "little", okay?" Tigress smiles, shaking her head. "But I mean during the missions, I'm no longer as clumsy and—"

"What about on the way here?" Mantis asks, referring to the bridge, the branch, and how Po started bouncing down a hill.

Po groans in annoyance. "Yes, I remember what happened on the way here. But I'm talking about the more..." He balances on his hind legs while using his foreleg to do alternating chopping actions. "... action-y stuff."

Mantis continues. "Like bouncing people around with your—"

Now frustrated, Po yells, "Alright, enough. Okay? I get it!"

Mantis just gives the dragon a sinister smile and one of his obnoxious laughs. Tigress almost laughs as well at the memories Mantis had mentioned. Po just sighs.

"But the point is that, I have to do this alone. I can find him on my own."

Tigress' smile disappears and becomes worried. "Po, please, let us come with you. You shouldn't have to be alone if your next battle with him becomes your last. We can search with you, and you alone can fight him. I just..." Tigress trails off and looks down at the ground.

Po looks concerned. "What?"

"It's just that..." she says, trying to figure out the right words to say. "... I don't like the thought of you fighting him if you just head out on your own like that, without us there with you."

Po starts to suspect something. He sees the sad look on her face. She cares about him _that _much? But now that he thinks about it, she did tell him how she felt when she thought he was killed by Shen. Well, he actually had to annoy her to get her to talk. It was hard for her to admit, but he knows that she cares about him a lot.

Po sighs. He shakes his head as he looks at the ground. Then he looks at her and smiles.

"Alright."

* * *

Just so you know, I changed Po's description about his teeth in chapter 22. If you look at my other drawing on DeviantART, which should be my avatar sometime tomorrow, you will see that he sort of has a beak and his mouth is filled with small teeth. No fangs.


	25. A Temporary Victory

This is the final chapter of my story. But I have more stories to write.

I do not own Kung Fu Panda.

* * *

**Dragon Heart**

**Secrets of the Dragons**

* * *

**Chapter 25**

**A Temporary Victory**

"Thank you all for your help."

Master Kahn bows to Shifu and his students. They bow back. "You're welcome, Master Kahn," Shifu replies. "If you ever need help from us again, we will be here."

"So, what are you going to do now?" Po asks as he looks at the damage of the Jade City. "No offence, but you're the new ruler of a dump."

Kahn smiles. "Don't worry, we will rebuild. We can keep the citizens in a nearby city until it is finished. It will take many years, but this is my choice." He adjusts the sling holding his arm. He broke it when he freed himself from the tree by knocking one of the branches off. "I will take all the time I have."

Then he looks at Po. "You know, I never would have thought that you were a Dragon Guardian. I thought they were all dead."

"Yeah, well, same here, man. In fact, I didn't even know the Dragon Guardians even existed. So I never expected I would ever be one. But hey, it's turning out pretty awesome so far."

Kahn chuckles. He limps towards the dragon with the assistance of Tigress, since he lost his cane. "Well, anyway, I am very grateful to have had your assistance, Wangzi."

"Hey, no problem. But, you know, I still prefer being called Po."

"Well, thank you, Po. I wish you luck on your search for Siwang. And I hope you take that monster down."

Everyone smiles. "Will do," Po says. He looks at everyone else. "Well, I think it's about time we head out." His smile grows as he says, "Want a lift?"

Shifu shakes his head. "I don't think that's necessary, Po."

"Oh, come on! We have all spent way too much time on the ground walking everywhere, well, except for Crane. But seriously, flying is so cool! You should totally see what everything looks like from that height." Master Shifu just smiles at the dragon's eagerness.

"Well, I guess it does sound like fun."

"Yes!" Po shouts excitedly. "Alright then, everybody climb aboard." Then he lies down so everyone can get on. Tigress is up front because she is the largest passenger and has a strong grip. Monkey takes a seat behind her. Shifu sits behind him. Viper wraps herself around Tigress' waist.

Crane takes off into the air first. Po spreads his wings out wide and starts with slow flaps. When he hovers above the ground, he tries to keep his back horizontal to avoid having anyone slide off. Then he starts flying towards the top of the mountains. Po then reaches the top of the mountains.

Everyone looks around in awe. None of them had ever seen anything like this before. It is an amazing sight, seeing the world from such a high height. They can even see the Jade Palace, or at least the hill it sat on top of. The sunlit areas glow a bright green in the distance. The closer areas are shaded by mountains because it is still morning.

Po starts heading towards the Jade Palace. His sensitive ears pick up the sound of cheering. He looks down at all of the people below. The Furious Five look down too, but Tigress looks around as if trying to find someone in particular. When she sees that person, she pats Po on the neck.

"Po, go down. I need to see someone."

"Huh? Okay then." The dragon lowers to the unwraps herself from the feline's waist. Before Po even lands, Tigress jumps off and pushes her way through the crowd. People move out of her way until she reaches the person she saw.

Tigress stops right in front of the former mother clouded leopard. She appears to be smiling. But Tigress is still worried about her. She suffered a terrible loss, and considered ending her own life, which is something that always brought out the feelings in Tigress. But this time she does not hide her concern.

"Are you going to be alright? I mean, after... you know?"

The mother gives Tigress a comforting smile. "Don't worry about me. I'll be fine. It's just gonna take a while for me to get over this. But I've been more worried about you. You've taken Bo's death so hard. Some people even say they heard you screaming at one of your friends."

Tigress looks back at Po, realizing she never apologized. She looks down at the ground, regretting her former actions. She feels a hand touch her shoulder, and she turns her head back to the leopardess.

"Will you be alright?"

Tigress remains silent, looking at the ground again. Then she smiles and nods. The spotted feline pulls Tigress into a hug. Tigress actually returns the hug. She is starting to get used to this. She actually likes this whole hugging idea now. Comfort had been one of the many things she had been missing in her life. She has Po to thank for all of this.

Tigress breaks from the hug, smiling at the leopardess, and she walks back to the dragon. "Good luck," the other feline says. Tigress turns around.

"Thanks." She runs to Po and jumps back onto his back. Then his wings start flapping as he shoots into the air. The citizens continue cheering or saying "goodbye" as Po continues on his path to the palace.

"Po?" Tigress says. Po turns his head to look at her. "I'm sorry."

"For what?"

"For how I treated you before... after Bo..."

Po smiles. "Don't worry about it. I forgive you. I always did. I mean, we're friends, right?"

Tigress smiles back with relief. "Thanks, Po." Then she enjoys the view as the get closer to the palace.

* * *

But meanwhile, far from the Jade Palace, in a cave in the distant mountains lies Siwang. The white dragon is lying in a dimly lit room completely exhausted and weak. His breathing is labored, and he often shifts uncomfortably. Not from the ground, but because of his aching body.

A feline steps into the room. "Siwang," a male voice calls.

The dragon opens his eyes, which no longer glow, but instead are yellow with visible round pupils. He looks at the feline. The large cat shows no fear of the dragon. They have known each other for a very long time. They have been working together for many years, and they still are.

"We are ready."

"Good," the dragon says as he groans from the aching pain. "Do not attack until I am good and ready. I still lack the strength to fight. I don't know how long it will be before I recover my full strength. Just continue with your regular duties."

"Yes, Master," The feline says. It is hard to see, but a menacing smile creeps across his face. He is willing to wait as long as it takes before their plan can be put to action. Then everything will be destroyed.

He leaves the room, his golden eyes glowing in the dim light.

**THE END**

* * *

I do expect final reviews from people, especially you, AnimationGirl.

Who is this mysterious feline working with Siwang? What kind of attack plan are they hatching? Why do I keep asking these questions? Why is that because of the fact that I am not 100% sure about what to put in my next story even though I have a lot of ideas?

Who knows?

My next story: Emblems of the Guardians (I might change the title later or something, but it depends)


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